Complete team performance guides Mammoth to win over Kraken

SALT LAKE CITY — The two newest NHL franchises faced off for the first time this season Friday when the Mammoth hosted the Kraken.

With Utah needing to end a three-game skid, the Mammoth responded with a strong team effort that culminated with a five-on-three penalty kill, and Utah's special teams made key plays to give the home to a 5-3 win over Seattle.

"When our group on the PK gets cheered like that by the crowd, it means a lot to them," Utah head coach Andre Tourgny said. "When our goalie gets cheers like that by the crowd, it means a ton. When we score a big goal or make a big play, I think it means a ton for the player."

Special teams was the difference in the game due to the Mammoth killing off four power-play opportunities for the Kraken while also snapping their own 0-for-4 drought on the man advantage over their last two games.

Utah, whose 83.5% penalty kill percentage ranks seventh in the NHL, added their first penalty kill in the opening period, and gave the team some early momentum and put pressure on Seattle goalkeeper Philipp Grubauer.

A scoreless first period was followed up by an entertaining second frame where three goals were scored between the two teams.

Mason Marchment put the first goal on the board by breaking away from two Mammoth defenders. Soon after, Marchment was picked clean by Nick Schmaltz, who stole the puck and raced toward the goal and flipped a shot to the right of Grubauer for the game-tying score.

Utah eventually took a lead when Kailer Yamamoto found himself in the right place at the right time. A Liam O'Brien's shot ricocheted right to Yamamoto, who found the net.

Originally, the goal was called off for goalie interference, but Tourgny challenged the call. It was eventually overturned to give Utah a one-goal lead. The overturned call helped the Mammoth improve to an NHL leading five successful coaching challenges out of six tries this season.

Later in the period, the Kraken earned a second man-advantage of the game, which quickly turned into a five-on-three advantage after a delay of game penalty on Ian Cole sent two Utah players to the penalty box.

Utah successfully killed the two-man advantage, which sparked a frenzy at the Delta Center as fans chanted "Veggie" for Karel Vejmelka's impressive stretch.

"Five on three for a 1:40's, no joke," Schmaltz said. "It's usually your goalie that's the best penalty killer in those situations and (Vejmelka) was great. He made some crazy saves."

But Marchment eventually found the puck again and launched a one timer to net his second goal of the game and fourth of the season to lock up the game 2-2.

The 0-for-4 power-play scoring drought finally ended for Utah after Dylan Guenther found the back of the net for the third consecutive game, giving the Mammoth the advantage again. Guenther has recorded 4 points over the past three games, filling the void with Logan Cooley out.

"He's been great," Schmaltz said of Guenther. "I mean, he's one of our best players. He makes a ton of plays. He scores a lot of big goals for us."

After killing the team's fourth power play of the game, J.J. Peterka hit an empty-net goal while falling down to give Utah a two-goal lead.

But what's better than a two-goal lead? A three-goal lead, thanks to Lawson Crouse's empty net score. The Kraken added a last-minute goal from Ben Myers, but a three-goal final period from the Mammoth helped the team snap its losing streak and get back into the win column.

Schmaltz finished with 3 points, putting him at a season total of 29.

"It's an important game, closing up the home stand, losing the first two," Guenther said. "I think it was kind of a must win."

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