3 Takeaways From Mammoth’s 4-2 Win Over Blues

Credit to Toropchenko for accepting the fight, realizing that the Mammoth would’ve been on top of him the whole game if he shied away. That deserves some respect, especially owning up to the hit he laid on Cooley.

However, what a fight from McBain. Outside of the first two jabs, he was in complete control of the duel, never backing down. Of course, him standing up and making sure everyone knew Toropchenko’s hit wasn’t going to be forgotten is the type of player all 32 NHL teams love to have.

“That’s awesome,” Nick Schmaltz said. “It’s the culture we built in here. Awesome to see that Bainer (McBain) got us going there. Happy we got the win, and he kind of set the tone for us tonight, so it’s great.”

Every single player that played for the Mammoth on Friday night knew what was going to go down between McBain and Toropchenko. The whole coaching staff probably knew as well. For Tourigny, it’s not an issue that he wanted to intrude on; rather, he let the players decide if they wanted to take action. They ended up showing with the fight that this is what each of them has preached; it’s a band of brothers in the Mammoth locker room.

“We didn’t like the hit on Cools (Cooley) when we were in St. Louis,” Tourigny said. “That’s not the kind of thing that can come from the coach. I didn’t say a word about it, but I think it showed how much guys care for each other…Tell me how Logan Cooley feels right now. Seriously. Put yourself in his shoes. My teammate has my back.”

Tourigny also made sure to credit Toropchenko for having the guts and respect to accept the fight and not be a poor sport. Again, Toropchenko could’ve declined it, especially considering he only has three fights in his NHL career while McBain has 19.

However, the fight was a huge statement by the Mammoth. Not only did it show that the team isn’t going to let their opponents injure their players, but the fight also gave the Mammoth energy going into the game. Tourigny stayed pretty humble about the fight, but he couldn’t resist calling it the highlight of the night for him.

“I think the answer from McBain, and what happened in the last game, I think that’s probably the highlight of the night for the Bear (Tourigny),” Tourigny said.

The Top Six Iginites

There were four goals scored on Friday by the Mammoth. Each goal was accompanied by two assists, resulting in 12 points being spread out across the roster. Nine of those points belonged to players in the Mammoth’s top six.

The passing, the plays, and the reads by Lawson Crouse, Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz, Dylan Guenther, JJ Peterka, and Barrett Hayton were phenomenal on Friday night. This is a top six that has struggled to connect at times this season, but for the past couple of games, it seems like they’ve finally figured out how to consistently play with each other.

The productive night began late in the first period. Keller, entering the zone, saw Schmaltz going to the front of the net on his right. Instead of trying to score, Keller made a smart play to shoot the puck at Hofer so it rebounded off his pads and right onto the stick of Schmaltz, who scored on the rebound attempt.

Keller made another great pass in the early stages of the second period to Lawson Crouse, who sniped the puck into the back of the net, doubling the Mammoth’s lead. I said it in Wednesday’s takeaways: Crouse has had a fantastic bounce-back season. He now has 22 points and 11 goals. He’s one goal away from tying his season total in that later category from last season, and in around half of the amount of games, too.

The offense didn’t stop there. Later in the second period, a brilliant setup from Schmaltz got Sean Durzi the puck with a wide-open net in front of him. The defenseman didn’t miss and scored the third Mammoth goal of the game.

Considering everything he’s been through the past couple of weeks, including being a game-time decision on Friday, Durzi has been great ever since the New York road trip. He now has two goals in the past three games.

To add insurance for their lead, Keller and Schmaltz produced one more goal, with the Mammoth captain setting up Schmaltz, who was in front of the net. The goal was on the power play as well, which helps the team’s overall percentage continue climbing from the bottom of the league.

“Schmaltzy (Schmaltz) was possessed,” Tourigny said. “He was really, really good. He won battles, the speed he had defensively, his face off, his penalty kill, everything. I liked our power play and the movement.”

Crazy stat time. The fourth Mammoth goal was the 198th time the Keller-Schmaltz duo has been credited on a goal together. That is the most between two U.S.-born teammates in NHL history. You heard that correctly, the most in the entire 100-plus-year history of the NHL. Even more than the Patrick Kane-Alex DeBrincat duo that tormented the league in the late 2010’s and early 2020’s.

“It feels like we’ve been playing with each other for a long time,” Schmaltz said. “We know where each other are at all times on the ice, and we’re always looking for each other. It’s been a heck of a ride playing with him, and hopefully we have many more great memories ahead.” 

One bad thing with the offense on Friday was Alex Kerfoot’s upper-body injury that forced him to exit the game in the first period and not return. Fortunately, Guenther and Keller stepped up big time and took shifts on the fourth line in place of Kerfoot.

Friday was a prime example of how the Mammoth’s offense should look. Consistent production by the top-six while the defense and bottom-six provide good defensive support, while also chipping in some offense. It’s about maintaining that play throughout the season that the Mammoth need to focus on. However, it seems like that’s finally happening based on their recent play.

Three Wins in a Row, 20 Wins for Veggie, and a Playoff Spot

With the 4-2 win, three big things came out of it. The first was from Karel Vejmelka. He is the first goaltender in the NHL to reach 20 wins this season. He is the second Czech goaltender to do that in NHL history, following the great Dominik Hašek.

“It’s a big accomplishment,” Vejmelka said. “Hašek is one of the best goalies in NHL history. It’s an honor, and I’m glad about it and happy for it.”

Ever since February of last season, it’s been shown that Vejmelka is a starting goaltender in the NHL. When Connor Ingram left the team, Vejmelka started every game except one for the rest of the season. He ended up recording 26 wins, the most in his career.

This season, he’s dealt with injuries here and there, but has played a majority of the Mammoth’s games, including the past five straight games. He has five wins in his past six games. Vejmelka is on pace to break his personal record for most wins in a season, only six away from the 26 he had last season.

“It’s a pleasure to play really good hockey,” Vejmelka said. “We blocked a ton of shots, so it’s just another piece of it, and I’m glad we found a way tonight.”

The second big thing that came out of the win is that for the first time since their seven-game win streak in October, the Mammoth have won three straight games. It’s something they’ve needed to do ever since that win streak. The team has had two game-winning streaks here and there, but until Friday night, failed to have any long sustainability in terms of winning.

Consistency has something that has been preached about the Mammoth numerous times in the past couple of months, and perhaps finally breaking through and winning more than two games in a row again is a sign of that happening. While it’s certainly a much-needed three wins in a row, no one should be celebrating.

The win on Friday was against the Blues, who haven’t been one of the best teams this season. Neither have the New York Rangers nor the Ottawa Senators. Fortunately, the Mammoth won’t play a team currently in a playoff spot until Thursday, but they have to be prepared for the next two games regardless and pick up every point possible. The foot needs to be on the gas at all times from here on out for the Mammoth.

“OK, we won two games. It doesn’t mean anything,” Tourigny said. “I think we had our lesson early on. You need to win a lot of games if you want to make the playoffs. Two games will not tip the scale enough.”

It’s true. Even if the Mammoth lose their next game, they need to win another good stretch of games to make sure they keep growing a lead over other teams in terms of points. Most Western Conference teams have games in hand over the Mammoth, so it’s even more crucial that points are coming their way.

The final big thing that came out of the win is that the Mammoth are finally back in a playoff spot after a couple of weeks looking in from the outside. With the Los Angeles Kings’ loss to the Winnipeg Jets, the Mammoth leapfrog them to take the second wild card spot in the Western Conference. They hold it with a 22-20-3 record.

It was a good win against the Blues on Friday. The top six played great, Vejmelka was solid in net, the physicality was there to keep the Blues in check, and the penalty kill did well, killing off all three power plays. No doubt Friday’s win was one Mammoth fans will enjoy for a while.

However, the job is not done, and it won’t be until the Mammoth officially clinch a playoff spot. There’s always room for improvement, and while the team is trending in the right direction, a larger sample size of winning is needed. As mentioned, the Mammoth did a great job on Friday, especially when they had the lead, but they’re hoping the best is yet to come.

“I like where the guys are right now,” Tourigny said. “They stay in the presence, they’re humble, and they know, hey, we’re going. We’re working together to get where we want to be. We’re not where we want to be, so we need to just keep going.” 

The Mammoth will play the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday. The Blue Jackets are 18-18-7 and are coming off a 5-3 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. They will play the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday before heading to Salt Lake City. These two teams played each other twice last season, with the season series being split evenly. The Mammoth won the most recent game in overtime last February by a score of 3-2.