3 Takeaways from Mammoth’s 4-2 3 Win Over the Golden Knights – The Hockey Writers – Utah Mammoth

Talk about a win of mammoth size. Since Game 2, the Utah Mammoth’s first-ever home game has been the main talking point of any media scrum. With a two-day break, the anticipation grew stronger and stronger. When Friday came, there was no disappointment. The Utah crowd was so loud that Mammoth’s bench had miscommunication.

Despite that, the Mammoths rode their momentum to two big wins, eventually winning Game 3 of their series against the Vegas Golden Knights. Coming into the series, the Golden Knights were the favorites, but now, the Mammoth have put themselves in a good spot. Here are some takeaways from the 4-2 win.

All (Punishment) Killer, No Completion

The biggest talking point in this series was the Golden Knights’ power play. They finished the regular season as the sixth best unit in the NHL. The power play also scored in each of the last two games of the series. It has been a factor for the Golden Knights. If Mammoth wanted to limit their opponent’s offense, having a penalty kill that shut down the unit completely was necessary.

That’s what game 3 brought. The Golden Knights had four power plays. Mammoth’s penalty kill shut down all four of those chances.

“They have a lot of threats, it’s just a matter of knowing the game plan and putting them in places we know we can defend,” said Lawson Crouse. “We do a lot of video, and things change all the time. They’re obviously doing the same thing. They’re trying to break our PK and find ways to break us up. We’re doing the exact same thing. It’s about being detailed.”

When you look at the Golden Knights power play unit, there are some big names there. Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, Tomáš Hertl, Mitch Marner, and Pavel Dorofeyev are all in the first unit. Those are the players who usually know how to score goals.

However, Mammoth did a good job throughout the series by silencing a lot of those players. Dorofeyev doesn’t even have a point. Hertl and Marner have no goals. A lot of those guys played a lot throughout this series. Yet here we are with some of the aforementioned top guys from the Golden Knights putting together three points in the series.

It’s gotten to the point where Golden Knights coach John Tortorella admits that the power play is something the team needs to look at before Game 4. The video needs to be looked at, and something needs to change.

“That’s something we have to look at,” Tortorella said. “I’ll give you that…We’ll see where it goes in the next game, but I liked some of it. I thought when Jack (Eichel) started shooting the puck a little bit, and they made the puck work. It looked better. I think we were a little bit intentional, but we’ll look at the units as we look at the tape and see what we do next game.”

During that power play, the Golden Knights had some great opportunities. However, it was Karel Vejmelka who stood tall. Facing 32 guns, he turned away 30 of them. He was great on the penalty kill, and that’s where the success started in this department.

“It starts with your most important player on the PK: your goalie,” Mammoth coach André Tourigny said. “I thought Veggie was solid; he made some key saves in key moments when our PK was tuned up. A couple of good block shots, a couple of good clearances. We were also solid on our power play…We had some great play from our special teams.”

It was a great showing from both special teams, but especially the penalty kill. Tortorella was brought into this organization to help the Golden Knights get out of ways like this, so the biggest challenge on the penalty kill may not have come up yet. We’ll see what happens in Game 4, but this is definitely a game the penalty kill can build on.

The Top Line Takes Off

Over the past two games, the top line of Nick Schmaltz, Clayton Keller, and Crouse has been criticized for their play. Before Game 3, the streak was tied at one point over two games in Vegas. Finally, on Friday night, the line connected.

Up 2-0 after the first half, it was time for the top line to shine. Crouse was the first to understand. Schmaltz scored a goal towards the net, Crouse missed and put Mammoth up 3-0. The key assist was Schmaltz’s first point of the postseason and his first playoff point.

The Crouser is coming in! 💰

3-0, Utah. pic.twitter.com/MVc54dsNea

— x – Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) April 25, 2026

Five minutes later, Keller fed Crouse, who wristed the net to put Mammoth up 4-0. That was Keller’s second point of the series, his first coming off a Guenther goal in the first. For Crouse, his second goal of the game tied his 2019-20 playoff scoring streak, a streak he is six games away from reaching that mark.

Throughout the season, players and coaches alike have talked about Crouse being one of the biggest leaders in the locker room. Although Keller is the captain, Crouse is almost like a second captain. He is a person with a big heart and soul who brings everything Mammoth needs. Fitness, scoring, you got it. Even a guy like MacKenzie Weegar, who just joined the Mammoth last month, had a few good things to say about the forward.

“He’s a great leader,” Weegar said. “He brought it all. He’s a guy who looks down on the bench when the game is tough, and quiets everybody down. He had a great game. I think he’s been waiting for this moment for a long time, so I’m happy for him, and I know he’s going to continue to play a good game.”

Now, Mammoth doesn’t really care who scores as long as they win the game. However, seeing a guy like Crouse get two goals in a game is something everyone in that Mammoth locker room loves to see.

Tourigny has been one of those guys all season who has called Crouse a big part of the locker room and one of the team’s key leaders. It’s no surprise that he praised him so much after the game.

“I think what Crouser brings to the team goes beyond scoring,” said Tourigny. “Obviously, we can take as many as he wants, so that’s not a problem. But again, his definition of his role and the impact he has on his teammates and on the team. He’s more than productive. Obviously, a two-goal game, a great game. He talked about our penalty kill earlier, and he was a big part of it. He played a solid game. He played a solid game. He played well.

It was great to see a top line from Mammoth on Friday. It was much needed as well. If the Mammoth wanted to keep winning games in this series, Keller, Crouse, and Schmaltz had to score in the end. Now, the trio have a combined six points under their belt. It’s still not good, but it’s progress. Like the penalty kill, the Game 3 performance could be a big building block for Game 4.

Game 3 Win Thanks To The Fans

As expected, the Delta Center was loud. The videos posted on social media won’t do it justice. Even the TV feed may not capture what it felt like on the field. The fans recorded the noise to reach 115 decibels. That’s the same sound level as ripping a chainsaw near your ear.

Between Tusky’s pregame show and Crouse’s wife, Claire, posting the best picture of him celebrating with the other wives on Instagram, it was an energetic and electric crowd that didn’t stop, even after the final buzz.

Claire Crouse. Princess of the people. #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/dNDiy0mAR

— x-SeeJoJazzandClub🏀🏒 (@SeeJoJazz) April 25, 2026

“Seeing the towels, I looked up immediately, coming to the snow,” Guenther said. “That’s something I’ll never forget. I think the first home game in the playoffs, seeing the towels, people standing, that was a cool moment.”

Weegar getting the first postseason goal ever at the Delta Center just sent the fans over the edge. It should have been, too. To see a guy who has really taken a step forward in the playoffs after joining the team a month ago get a big goal like this, it’s huge. Better yet, the goal was assisted by two fan favorites: Kailer Yamamoto and Liam O’Brien, both of whom played big roles in the playoffs.

WEE scored a goal!!

Weegar makes it 1-0, Utah! pic.twitter.com/P1O0932Zar

— x – Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) April 25, 2026

As mentioned, there was confusion on the bench because of how loud it was. The line changes did not go as planned. It will be an adjustment for Tourigny, but it is acceptable.

“Too bad, we had confusion on the bench,” said Tourigny. “Guys didn’t know what was out. For people who don’t know, I can talk a lot. But tonight, the crowd beat me, no doubt about that. So there’s a few things we did as a staff to get better during the game to make sure there wasn’t a little bit of confusion.”

Perhaps one of the biggest takeaways from Game 3 was that Mammoth won by just 12 shots. They scored four goals on 12 shots. Yes, the Mammoth offense had a really good game, but that might say a lot about the Golden Knights’ scoring and defense. Carter Hart has played very well in the first two games, but on Friday, he didn’t look good at all.

Finishing the game with a .667 save percentage is not good at all. However, Tortorella restored his faith in Hart’s back game, saying he never thought about pulling the goalie.

Yes, 12 shots won the Mammoth game on Friday. However, that is not something that can continue to happen. The Golden Knights are good at blocking shots, but that doesn’t give the Mammoth an excuse to hit those few shots. All principles are important, and true; more shots means more goals.

“We missed the net a few times, and they blocked a lot of shots,” Guenther said. “Really the focus is getting traffic and shots on net. If they’re going in, great.”

For now, all that matters is that those 12 shots won Mammoth the game. Talk about a story. The first playoff game at home, an amazing crowd with amazing volume, some worthy players getting points, and a win in that game to take a 2-1 lead in the series. That’s exactly how Aunty wanted him to go.

Game 4 will be big for the team. With a win, Mammoth could push the Golden Knights to the brink of elimination. Although it is now two days away from that game and the Golden Knights are not to be taken lightly (Tortorella had a nice backcourt game), the Mammoth put themselves in a good position with a big win in Game 3. It was definitely what the Utah fanbase deserved.

The Mammoths will play the Golden Knights in Game 4 on Monday night at the Delta Center. Mammoth currently leads the series 2-1.