Top-Heavy Mammoth Sinking Quickly in Central Division

The Utah Mammoth stormed out of the gate to begin the season, making an early case to be a playoff contender. With a young core rising and still reaching their potential, the Mammoth jumped to an 8-3 record in their first 11 games. Since then, they've gone 2-5-3 to drop them out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference.

The biggest issue plaguing the Mammoth is their lack of depth scoring. The team's forward group is incredibly top-heavy, so when they don't score in a contest, the Mammoth often go down. Playing in the jam-packed Western Conference, the Mammoth are sinking quickly if they can't get more production from their bottom-six forward group.

Veterans Falling Short

The Mammoth have one of the most exciting top-six forward groups in the NHL, headlined by Logan Cooley, JJ Peterka, Dylan Guenther, Nick Schmaltz and captain Clayton Keller. The quintet leads the team in scoring by a considerable margin.

Behind them, however, the offense evaporates almost instantly. After Peterka's 15 points in 21 games, the next-highest-scoring forward is rugged winger Lawson Crouse, with 4 goals and 8 points in 21 games.

Not only that, but the key veterans they count on to provide two-way effectiveness are not holding up their end of the bargain. Brandon Tanev, a speedy and gritty bottom-line winger, has zero goals and a single assist in 21 games. Jack McBain, the 25-year-old third-line center in the first year of a five-year deal paying him $4.25 million, has just one goal and three assists while playing over 13 minutes of ice time per contest. That stat line is mirrored by penalty-killer and pest Kevin Stenlund.

Outside of Crouse's production and Michael Carcone scoring three goals and six points, no other player in the bottom half of average ice time has more than two goals and three points. It's simply not enough to propel the Mammoth forward. The bottom-six scoring is becoming a larger drain on the team as the season progresses.