3 Takeaways From Mammoth’s 4-3 Win Over Panthers

However, Vaněček was only on the Panthers for less than half a season after coming over from the San Jose Sharks during the trade deadline. He only started seven games for the Panthers. He didn’t make a single playoff appearance (although his stare-down of Stuart Skinner in the finals did put his name all over hockey social media). 

Despite limited playing time, Vaněček got a pretty good tribute video and reaction from the crowd. Even if the fans in the stands didn’t recognize his name at the time, they did after the game.

Throughout the first two periods, the Panthers outshot the Mammoth. They had some really good chances, but Vaněček stopped them. Even in the second period, when the Panthers had double the amount of shots, Vaněček still stood strong.

“(I’m) really happy for him,” head coach André Tourigny said. “I think he had great games for us (lately). We could not find a way to win. We could not give him enough offense. Tonight, we gave him a little bit of offense. He got the two points on the back-to-back. Huge win for Vanny (Vaněček), huge win for us. That’s great.”

While his save percentage wasn’t great in the game, sitting at .893, Vaněček still walked away with the win with some highlight reel saves. That includes the first period, where he made a big pad save on Eetu Luostarinen. He had some solid saves, too, towards the end while the Mammoth tried killing off a penalty.

The sweetest part of Vaněček’s start was that he got his first win since Oct. 26. It was a win that he had been waiting for and trying to get ever since his losing streak started. To do it against his former team was even better.

“It feels good,” Vaněček said. “I didn’t get a win in a long time, and then at the right time in the right rink, we get the win.”

While the win for Vaněček probably won’t earn him any future additional starts as the Mammoth will almost certainly continue rolling with Karel Vejmelka as the starter, it does give him and his fans a little confidence in the future for his next game. It’s a good story and a great win for Vaněček as he finally gets the win he’s arguably been deserving.

Sean Durzi and the Penalty Kill Highlight the Night

Late in Monday’s game, Sean Durzi was hit in the corner against the boards. The defenseman got off the ice and into the locker room. Durzi didn’t return to the game, sparking concern over whether the defenseman sustained yet another massive injury.

Luckily for the Mammoth, Durzi’s injury was nothing too serious, and he was inserted into the lineup against the Panthers. 60 minutes later, his brilliant play allowed him to be the third star of the game.

Durzi’s offense was put on display during the second and third Mammoth goals. After a poor turnover led to Sandis Vilmanis scoring his first NHL goal, the Mammoth defenseman who was responsible for the turnover got to work. Michael Carcone rushed into the Panthers’ zone and slid a pass over to Jack McBain on the right side of Sergei Bobrovsky. McBain waited a couple of seconds and then found Durzi, who scored.

Cole Schwindt later tied the game at two heading into the third period, but Durzi wasn’t done yet. More than halfway through the third period, the puck made its way to Durzi on the blueline. The defenseman shot it, and it went in thanks to a deflection off of Mikhail Sergachev.

Interestingly enough, Durzi had never had a multi-point game with Utah before this road trip. Now, after Tuesday’s game, he has two of them (Jan. 24 @ Nashville as well). Something that Durzi and the Mammoth did well was have patience. They didn’t rush any opportunities; rather, they took their time to set up plays and play solid hockey.

“When we play patient, we play the game,” Durzi said. “We’ve got to play, take what’s given, and then go from there, let our skill take over. We have a lot of good players who can pry off their turnovers, or winning a puck battle, and going from there.”

Another thing the Mammoth did well was kill off penalties. Argue whether they were unnecessary and/or unavoidable or not, but the team took four penalties in the game. The Mammoth killed off all four opportunities, a bounce-back game from Monday’s loss, where the Lightning capitalized on their power play, which won them the game.

The Mammoth’s penalty kill was so good that Nick Schmaltz managed to score the opening goal of the game on a breakaway, thanks to some nifty moves to allow him to send the puck into the back of the net on his backhand. 

“I think the penalty kill was huge,” Tourigny said. “They made a key play. You need to win in this league. You need your special team, your penalty kill, to be good. You need the power play to be good. You need your goaltending to be good, and you need to work and do all the other things. But those are key situations, or special situations. Call it the way you want, you need that to win consistently in the league.”

Barrett Hayton pretty much sealed the win for his team with an empty net goal near the end of the game. While Carter Verhaeghe scored for the Panthers with less than 30 seconds left in the game, it was pretty much over with. 

This was a great game for the Mammoth. They stayed consistent throughout the game and didn’t give up when the Panthers scored. Rather, they kept working at gaining control of the game. It was all a part of the plan. If the Mammoth can play their game, rewards will come, including wins.

“Stay patient, play our game, and then goals will come,” Durzi said. “I thought we played a great game in Tampa, just didn’t get the goals we needed tonight. It’s the same way. They get a few off from some of our turnovers. That’s the kind of hockey it’s going to be. They’re going to get their looks, and we’re going to get ours; staying on our game, staying patient with our game, and taking what’s given and winning the game.”

Farewell Florida

With the win on Tuesday, the Mammoth finally won a game in the state of Florida. It took four games, including being outscored 10-0 in Tampa Bay by the Lightning in two games, but the team can finally walk away from one of the hardest gauntlets to play in with at least one win.

The Mammoth now have four out of a possible six points so far on their southern United States road trip, with one more game left to play. They continue to occupy the first wild card spot in the Western Conference with 60 points, three points ahead of the Sharks (the Sharks do have two games in hand).

Tuesday’s matchup against the Panthers was a big one to win for the Mammoth. They had a great game. They won the first period and took off from there. Vaněček played great, the penalty kill came up huge, Durzi had a fantastic game, and the team never panicked despite the Panthers continuing to stick around right until the final horn went off.

That Panthers team is not an easy team to beat, either. Until their win on Tuesday, the Mammoth had never beaten them in franchise history. They are the defending Stanley Cup champions for a reason. It speaks volumes about the growth of this team to be able to march into Sunrise after a tough close loss against the Lightning and escape with a narrow but convincing win.

With a 10-2-1 record in January, there is no doubt that the Mammoth have played their best hockey of the season when it matters most. Now, you’re beginning to see the inklings of them pulling away from the other teams in the Western Conference with the first wild card spot.

Yes, the trajectory looks good, but the jobs not finished. The Mammoth have to lock down that wild card spot and go into the Olympic break with as many points as they can. This week was always projected to be the hardest week for the Mammoth, playing some of the toughest teams in the league in the Lightning, Panthers, and next up, the Carolina Hurricanes and Dallas Stars. Yet, they have two points so far. Getting another two in Raleigh would be huge for this team.

“I like the way our trajectory is right now,” Tourigny said. “I like the way we play. I like the way we progress, and I don’t want to look too far ahead or too far back. I just want to stay in the moment, stay in the present, and that will be a hell of a game in Carolina, tough opponent. Let’s make sure tomorrow we have a good rest and get ready. That’s a swing game. We win that, and that’s a hell of a trip.”

For now, the Mammoth should walk away from Tuesday’s game feeling proud of themselves. It’s massive to take down the defending Stanley Cup champions in their own building after playing the Lightning less than 24 hours ago. Add on the fact that the Mammoth wanted to win this one badly for former Panthers players Vaněček, Schmidt, and Kevin Stenlund, and yeah, this one felt good for the team.

“We got a couple of former (Panthers) guys in our room,” Durzi said. “They wanted this one pretty bad. Obviously, V (Vaněček) with a performance like that deserved it…We really wanted to put together a good effort in front of him. He deserves it. Him, Schmidty (Schmidt), Steny (Stenlund), we got some former guys on our squad. It’s a big one.”

The Mammoth will finish off their four-game road trip in North Carolina as they take on the Hurricanes. The Hurricanes are 32-15-5 this season and are coming off a 4-1 win over the Ottawa Senators. Last season, these two teams met twice, with each team winning a game. The Mammoth lost the most recent game in February by a score of 7-3.