3 Takeaways From Mammoth’s 7-2 Win Over Islanders

The Mammoth made it especially tough early on. The team failed to register a shot on goal in the first 14 minutes of the game. Meanwhile, the Islanders were giving Vejmelka a hard time, putting up 10 shots in that time frame. 

“When we’re not playing well at the beginning, nobody panicked, and Veggie (Vejmelka) was a big part of it, because he was rock solid,” Tourigny said. “He made us have a level of confidence, and the way we were playing, we knew they may score one, but he’s capable of stopping the bleeding, and he made a huge impact in the game.”

Vejmelka stayed strong, not allowing a goal until the second period. Despite the Islanders outshooting the Mammoth 19-11 in the first two periods, the goaltender was a wall for his team. That includes during the four-minute penalty kill at the end of the second period, where he had to be good to keep the Mammoth in it.

Vejmelka’s ability to come back from injury and put up a solid performance as he did on Thursday gave his teammates a lot of confidence. It also kept them in the game until the offense took off in the second period.

“He kept us in the game early,” Dylan Guenther said. “I think the shots were 10-0 at one point. If they score a few there, it’s a different game. He’s huge for us.”

For Vejmelka, having that busy first 14 minutes was good for him and his play. It kept him in the game and improved his confidence after fending off the Islanders’ attack. He was excited to be back with his teammates, and the win was just a cherry on top.

“It’s always better to make a couple of saves in the first couple of minutes,” Vejmelka said. “I felt more and more confident during the game, and we played a hell of a game defensively as well. We did a hell of a job on the PK. It’s a big team win tonight.”

A Great Day for Special Teams

From just glancing at the score alone, you can probably assume that the Mammoth’s offense had a field day on Thursday. However, the special teams were a massive part of how the Mammoth even got the win in the first place.

Like it’s been for most of the season, the penalty kill was fantastic. After taking the first penalty of the game with no shots on goal yet, the Mammoth held together and, with the help of Vejmelka, killed off the penalty.

The Mammoth killed off another penalty before the end of the second period, where Alex Kerfoot unleashed a nasty high stick in the face of an Islanders player. He received a four-minute double minor penalty, setting the Mammoth up with a four-minute penalty kill.

With a 3-1 lead, there had to be some thought in the heads of Mammoth fans of the Predators game. If the Islanders scored on their power play, it could be the beginning of the end for the Mammoth, who have had issues keeping the lead.

Fortunately for the fans and the team, that wasn’t the case. The Mammoth killed off the entire four-minute penalty and did it well. The penalty kill finished out the game, only allowing one goal from the Islanders (funny enough, the lone power play goal was from Matthew Schaefer, who now has two goals in two games against the Mammoth).

“Our penalty killing has been big, but you never know,” Tourigny said. “Anything can happen. I think at that moment in the game with the score, that was huge…It came up big and not giving up a goal, that was huge for us.”

The Mammoth’s power play has been a huge issue over the past couple of months. It’s been one of the worst power plays in the NHL. On Thursday, it didn’t look like it, though.

It started during the four-minute power play. Anders Lee took a hooking penalty that effectively ended the Islanders’ power play and eventually put the Mammoth on the man advantage. Mikhail Sergachev capitalized on the opportunity and scored from near the blueline to put the Mammoth up 4-1.

Soon after, the Islanders took another penalty. The Mammoth did not take the chance for granted. The top unit made some nice passes to set up Clayton Keller for an easy shot into a wide-open net to make it 5-1.

“I think the effort, winning loose puck battles (makes it successful),” Guenther said. “They’re a good face-off team. When Horvat is in there, we know that he’s good on the draw. I think that first jump mentality and starting with the puck is huge.”

Special teams is what drove the momentum to favor the Mammoth. The success of the penalty kill and the power play is more than likely what won the Mammoth the game, or at the very least, the reason why they dominated the Islanders.

Dylan Guenther Scores His First Hat Trick

You might be surprised to hear this, but Guenther had never scored a hat trick before Thursday. Despite having numerous two-goal games and game-clinching goals, he had never scored a hat trick. That fact surprised Vejmelka as well.

“I was surprised,” Vejmelka said. “It’s his first career hat trick. I thought he already had one.”

Well, Guenther’s lack of hat tricks had to end at some point, and Thursday wound up being the day.

Guenther’s night started early in the second period. He and Sean Durzi managed to get past the Islanders’ defense and head towards David Rittich on a two-on-one. Guenther waited and then quickly snapped the puck into the back of the net. It was the first goal of the game and the icebreaker for the Mammoth.

The forward scored again around the halfway point of the period. The goal came off a great pass from Lawson Crouse from the corner boards. Guenther, who was in front of the net, quickly shot it in and scored the second goal of the game for the Mammoth.

Speaking of Crouse, he had a pretty good game for the Mammoth on Thursday. While he didn’t score a goal, he played a really well two-way game, especially on the penalty kill, and it was noticed.

“Our unsung player tonight was Lawson Crouse,” Tourigny said. “He was rock solid on the PK. He played really well, made good plays with the puck, and without the puck. He was really good for us today.”

Guenther’s third goal of the game came from another great Crouse assist. Crouse on a two-on-one passed it to his linemate. Guenther patiently waited for a good moment to unleash his shot. Once he found it, he unleashed the puck and scored his third goal of the game, finishing the hat trick.

It was a brilliant game for Guenther, who hit the 20-goal plateau with his third goal, becoming the first Mmamoth this season to do so. However, he gave the main credit to his teammates for their assists.

“It’s cool,” Guenther said. “I probably have a lot of two-goalers, so it’s nice to get another one, but Crouser (Crouse) and Haytes (Barrett Hayton) made really nice plays on all of my goals, so I wouldn’t have scored.”

Guenther’s three goals and assist to Sergachev’s goal matched his career high of four points in a single game, which he accomplished against the Vancouver Canucks in 2024 with the Arizona Coyotes. He also has back-to-back multi-goal games at UBS Arena.

Team Canada might have already picked their players to bring to Italy for this year’s Winter Olympics. However, Guenther might be showing off early for the 2030 Olympics in France. The forward continues to improve in every game and season, not just offensively, but defensively as well. 2030 might be far, but Tourigny could see his forward being considered for that honor one day.

“I can see that,” Tourigny said. “But I don’t want him to get ahead of himself, and I won’t get ahead of myself as well. I have such a high regard for Gunner (Guenther) of what he can do, and for me, the big thing for him is to make sure you keep the right mindset and the way he plays right now. I think he’d better record it, because he will hear about it for a long time.”

It was a massive win for the Mammoth. To get a big win against a good team like the Islanders to start 2026, and the road trip is huge. It gives them a lot of momentum heading into the other two games in the New York area.

The win is great, and the momentum will carry with the team as mentioned, but once Friday hits, the Mammoth are focused on Saturday’s game. It’s the usual way of thinking for the Mammoth. It’s the way they have to think to continue winning.

“We won the game,” Tourigny said. “It’s just business as usual. We want to do that every night, and I think our guys want that…We need to build up and make sure we’re capable of doing those things, either stopping the bleeding, or having special teams come big at key moments, or having the rebound mentality when we lose the momentum, those kinds of things.”

Consistency, as mentioned throughout this season, has been the enemy of the Mammoth. They are still looking for their first three-game winning streak or more since October. A win like this is one that definitely gives momentum to do that. The Mammoth just need to continue what they did well on Thursday.

At the end of the day, this was the perfect game to have. A big win to start a big road trip, a big win to kick off 2026, and a big win to start the second half of the season. You couldn’t have written it any better.

“We wanted to start the new year the right way,” Vejmelka said. “We did it, and I’m glad how we played tonight.”

The Mammoth will head to Newark to play the New Jersey Devils on Saturday. The Devils are 21-17-2 and are coming off a 3-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. These two teams last met in December, where the Mammoth lost 2-1.