Keller's game-winning goal in OT completes Mammoth's comeback over Flyers

SALT LAKE CITY — An improbable comeback took place at the Delta Center on Wednesday night.

Down to the final two minutes of regulation, Utah faced a one-goal deficit. As the team played six-on-five, Philadelphia's Garnet Hathaway took possession of the puck with a clear shot at an empty net to put the game on ice.

Instead of shooting the puck within seconds of gaining control, Hathaway skated closer to the empty goal when Nick Schmaltz chased him down from behind and stripped the puck to save a potential goal with 1:27 left on the clock.

The hustle play from Schmaltz and gaffe from Hathaway would prove to be costly for the Flyers.

After sluggish play burned the Mammoth for a majority of the game, Clayton Keller decided to take it upon himself to be the hero for Utah.

Keller stole the puck from Travis Sanheim and raced toward the net, and made franchise history as he buried the game-tying goal with just 34 seconds left in regulation. It marked the first-ever six-on-five goal in Mammoth history.

But Keller wasn't done there.

"There were a lot of guys on the ice for both teams that had quit on the play, and he never quit, and he just stripped the guy," Utah head coach Andre Tourigny said. "It's the same on the tying goal, (Keller) is going against a defenseman who will be at the Olympics for Canada, and he stripped him to cut the net and take the space and put it in."

The Utah captain, Keller capped off a three-goal comeback with a snapshot overtime winner on a pass from Dylan Guenther, sealing a 5-4 win over the Flyers.

"I think a lot of it's belief, and it's the mental talk that I'm saying to myself in my head," Keller said. "I think I've always just trusted my training. I know I've done everything possible to leave myself in a good position and let the rest take care of itself."

Tourigny praised his team for not giving up, especially in the final minutes when things looked most bleak. The team has had a successful stretch of games and could have packed it in after falling behind three goals early in the second period.

"Our first six-on-five goal in our franchise history," Tourigny said. "That was a clutch one, obviously, and in overtime, a really good goal. I like the way we turned things around in the second period. There's things we didn't like about the game. It's obvious, you watch the game, but I would like to focus a lot on the positive."

The miraculous comeback from the Mammoth didn't seem possible throughout most of the game. The three days off between games looked like it was going to suck the momentum Utah had picked up over its seven-game home stand.

The Mammoth didn't play with that same energy and attention to detail that helped the team win five of its last six and gain plenty of ground in the playoff chase. It was the second straight game Utah began slow, but it looked like this time wouldn't have the same result.

Poor play and defensive lapses led to plenty of opportunities for the Flyers to take advantage of, though.

Cam York scored the opening goal for Philadelphia just 30 seconds into the game. The Mammoth then had an opportunity to tie things up with a power play opportunity, but a costly penalty on Barrett Hayton seconds in nixed the man advantage and set the tone for much of the game.

Those types of mistakes cost the Mammoth early and helped lead to six committed penalties on Utah in the game. That allowed the Flyers to go 2-of-6 on the power play and pick up some key goals to extend its lead.

Philadelphia's Christian Dvorak netted two goals, with one coming on the man advantage at a time that felt like it had killed the momentum the Mammoth had picked up.

Utah made things interesting, though, and scored two goals 36 seconds apart to make it a one-goal game.

And the Mammoth kept fighting, both literally and figuratively.

Jack McBain dropped his gloves and dueled Noah Juulsen in the third period. McBain landed a couple of haymakers on the defenseman before dropping him. The fight added more fuel to the fire for Utah, and it also benefited that they were able to pick up a power play with the fight.

Guenther answered the call on the man advantage and scored his 24th goal of the season, giving the Mammoth life.

As part of the comeback, Karel Vejmelka made some key saves, while Schmaltz made the play of the game before Keller's clutch gene took over late.

"I trust him in those situations," Tourigny said of Keller. "I know he has it in him. I know he wants to make them. I think that's probably the reason number one he's a great captain for us. He's never satisfied. He always wants more. He wants to be an elite player. He's not happy just to be good. He wants to be great."

Keller notched his third overtime goal this season and ranks second in the NHL. His 3 points on the night gave him 13 total on the seven-game home stand, which is good for third in the NHL in scoring in that span.

Alongside Keller's clutch goals, the impact Schmaltz made with his strip cannot be overstated.

"It was great, we stuck with it," Keller said. "We knew that we weren't playing great and there's a lot of mistakes, and just dumb mistakes, really. We just kept fighting so many guys made key plays. None of this happens if Schmaltzy doesn't backcheck and give everything he's got to strip them before they score the empty net and that's the difference sometimes."

Tourigny praised Schmaltz for his effort, noting his ability to do the things that people don't see.

"I like his performance and how he impacts our team," Tourigny said. "I'm glad for him and for everybody who was here at the Delta watching our game, who sees that and can highlight what Nick Schmaltz means for our team."

The win helped Utah finish 6-0-1 on the homestand and now they'll look to keep it up when they hit the road for a four-game trip. The Mammoth will be back home to play three more games before the Olympic break begins in early February.

"I think what we need to learn from tonight in a positive manner, and we need to be on grade to keep pushing forward," Tourigny said. "We have seven games before the break that will be really good opponents. It will be a tougher schedule. So let's embrace the grind."

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