3 Takeaways From Mammoth’s 4-3 Loss to Penguins

Nearly two minutes later, Guenther struck again. It came off a Mikhail Sergachev shot that bounced off the boards and landed behind Stuart Skinner. A crowd of players went diving for the puck, but it was Guenther who got the final touch before it went into the back of the net to make it 2-0 Mammoth.

Having a good start is important for a hockey game. At times throughout the season, it’s something the Mammoth have struggled with. A good start can set the momentum for the game. In any case, as a team, you’d rather be in front of your opponents than chasing them. While the rest of the game was the main issue for the Mammoth, the first period was a good one for them.

“The start is important,” Guenther said. “The start of the game really sets the tone. I thought we did that. We got into some discipline troubles, but I like the start.”

The Mammoth ended up outshooting the Penguins 12-8 in the first period and looked like they were in complete control. That is, until the second period arrived.

Penalty Problems

Just one glance at the stats from Saturday and you’ll know what the main issue for the Mammoth was. The team’s discipline was awful. It’s one of the more recent recurring issues for the Mammoth. Saturday was a prime example of why the team needs to fix it.

In the whole game, the Mammoth took six penalties, double the amount the Penguins took. Five of those penalties came in the second period. The box was like a revolving door. As soon as the Mammoth killed one penalty, they would take another one. If that wasn’t bad enough, the Penguins have a top-five power play in the league. At that point, it’s just plain stupid.

The first Penguins goal came from Anthony Mantha on the power play, a five-on-three opportunity at that. It snowballed from there as the Penguins tied the game up before the start of the third period.

“We can do a much better job in terms of putting ourselves in positions to not take penalties that are unnecessary,” Ian Cole said. “Some are going to be necessary, fine. Some are going to happen, accidents, whatever. Fine. But giving one of the best power plays six opportunities and a five-on-three is not putting us up for success.”

The Penguins took their first lead of the game off a power play goal in the third as well. While Cole would score his first goal since Dec. 3 to tie it up again, all momentum was lost.

Saturday’s game was physical. There’s no doubt about that. However, there’s a way to be physical and control the game without taking penalties. The Penguins did a good job at that. The Mammoth did not.

“We had full control of that game, and instead of playing mature, simple, get above them, put puck deeps, we tried to force the play with the puck, tried to do way too much,” head coach André Tourigny said. “We took penalties in the O-zone, most of them, except one. Five in a row in the second, and we give them some hope. We have bad line change and stuff like that.”

There were certainly some interesting calls or lack of calls on the ice throughout the game. Officiating wasn’t the greatest. Logan Cooley was crosschecked and hooked on a breakaway, leading to a collision with the net’s post, and needing help getting off the ice, giving Mammoth fans PTSD from the injury the forward suffered against the Vancouver Canucks in December that sidelined him for eight weeks. Yet, there was no penalty given out from that play.

There was another instance where Cooley was hit in the face by either an elbow or a stick, but yet no call. However, that’s hockey. Sometimes, you’re lucky with the penalties, and you win a game off some calls that shouldn’t have been called. Other times, like the Mammoth on Saturday, the calls are going to go against you. Instead of complaining, you have to stick to your game and control the controllables.

“I cannot control that (the officiating),” Tourigny said. “What I can control is the penalty in the offensive zone. What we can control is where we put our stick and not giving the opportunity for the ref to be a factor. Obviously, I did not like a few things, but it’s about us. It’s about what we can control. We didn’t make the right decisions. It is what it is. I won’t blame anybody else. It’s on us. It’s on me.”

It won’t be getting easier for the Mammoth’s penalty kill either. They play the second-best power play on Monday and then the third-best power play on Thursday. Call Saturday’s game a teaching point or a warning. Whatever you want to call it, what needs to happen is simple. The Mammoth need to stop taking unnecessary penalties. It will cost them dearly if they continue taking an absurd amount of penalties this week.

Playoff Pressure

A lot of the Mammoth’s most recent games have really had the physicality amped up. Could it be the playoff pressure surrounding most of these teams?

It started against the Columbus Blue Jackets, a game in which players even said they felt like it was a playoff game. That was against a team trying to make their way into a playoff spot. Then there was the game against the Minnesota Wild, a team that is in a playoff spot. You can just chalk up the Chicago Blackhawks losses to the Mammoth playing down to their opponent.

Again, on Saturday, the Mammoth played a fast, physical game against a team that is in a playoff spot. The Mammoth are starting to really feel the playoff pressure. The bad part about it is that they lost every game mentioned except one.

With 15 games left, the Mammoth need around 20 points to clinch a playoff spot. At this rate, teams might catch up to them. The San Jose Sharks are four points back, so there is a slight cushion. However, there can only be so many losses until the Mammoth slip to the second wild card spot or below the playoff line. Neither of those options is good.

Cole knows what it takes to win the Stanley Cup, let alone make the playoffs. In fact, the only time outside his rookie season when he didn’t play in the playoffs was last season with Utah. He thinks this Mammoth team has the maturity to stick with it. However, Cole says this is not how the team should be playing if they want to punch their ticket into the postseason.

“We should be handling it better than we are,” Cole said. “It’s something where we have a lot of great players on this team. We have a lot of guys who want to win hockey games, but for whatever reason, we’re finding ways to lose hockey games, and we need to flip that script right away. We can’t let this linger. We can’t let this continue to snowball. It’s got to be something where we make a concerted effort to be better.”

Soul searching is what the Mammoth have to do, especially with the number of losses that are piling up. Cole agrees with that statement, especially heading into a week where the team plays the Dallas Stars and the Vegas Golden Knights, two playoff teams.

With four losses in a row, the Mammoth cannot let that negativity bleed into their upcoming games. Looking back at film and dissecting what went wrong is encouraged and needed. However, replicating those losing traits and momentum can’t happen.

“Learning is important, but I think you don’t want it to bleed,” Guenther said. “You don’t want to get emotional. If we get down 2-0 in the next game, you don’t want that to snowball. I think it’s just the next shift and being aware of the things that we have to fix, but making sure that it’s a clean slate going into every game.”

The Mammoth have the leadership to make sure that doesn’t happen. When you look at the list of Stanley Cup champions on the team, five players have climbed that hill. There are many more who have consistently made the playoffs across their career. 

On the flip side, there are many players who have limited to no playoff experience on this team. They’re hungry. They have to control that feeling and channel it into playing the right way. This game will teach you, and so will your teammates around you. It’s about applying those lessons and moving forward.

“We have enough leadership,” Tourigny said. “We have enough guys who have been through it, and our young guys who will learn from those guys. They are so competitive, and they want it so badly. The game is the best teacher, and they will learn. They want to win. I’m sure they will get life lessons like tonight, but that will make us a better team.”

This is a critical time for the Mammoth. The first 67 games haven’t been for nothing. The Mammoth have put themselves in a position where they have around a 90% chance of making the playoffs. It’s good, but it’s not 100%. There are teams right behind them that are just as hungry, if not hungrier, for their spot.

The Mammoth need to learn from their mistakes against the Penguins, especially, and start accumulating points again. There are 15 games left. If other teams catch up to the Mammoth because of their immature errors, there won’t be enough runway for them to battle back.

“It’s an emotional game,” Guenther said. “I think it’s an emotional time, and the crowd’s loud. You can feel it. People are talking about playoffs, but we still have 15 more games, and we probably have to get 20 more points. We’re a long way away.”

The Mammoth will travel to Texas to take on the Stars on Monday. The Stars are 42-14-10 this season and are coming off a 3-2 overtime win over the Detroit Red Wings. These two teams last met in January, where the Mammoth lost 3-2. They trail the regular season series two wins to one.