In just their second season in Salt Lake City, the Utah Mammoth are playoff-bound. This quick success in their new home makes the Mammoth the latest new franchise to quickly jump into contention, and one of the best stories of a post-season field featuring plenty of new faces.
That the Mammoth’s first trip to the playoffs sees them square off against Vegas feels fitting, considering the feat.
Playoff seeding tells us Utah is the underdog as they sit in the first wild card spot in the west. Experience, too, gives Vegas a clear upper hand. But this is no David-versus-Goliath matchup. The Golden Knights’ fourth division title earns them home-ice advantage, but separates them from Utah in the overall standings by just three points. Utah finished the regular season with more wins (43, compared to Vegas’ 39), a better goal differential (plus-28, which almost doubles Vegas’ plus-15) and a point total that would place them third in the pillow-fighting Pacific.
Of course, that’s not to say Utah’s first trip to the post-season will be easy. Far from it. Vegas has built its foundation on post-season success, missing the dance just once, playing in the Cup Final twice, and winning it all just three years ago.
Utah’s roster is brimming with breakout players ready for their first shot at the playoffs. Vegas is as star-studded as they come, with this year’s group boasting one of the top playmakers in the NHL in Mitch Marner as the former Maple Leaf gets his first taste of playoff hockey not in blue and white. The Golden Knights also enter these playoffs with a new voice behind the bench after the surprising firing of Bruce Cassidy and the hiring of John Tortorella in his place. A 7-0-1 sprint since Tortorella took over quickly quieted doubters.
Will that continue in the playoffs, or will Utah steal the show?
Here’s what you need to know about this first-round series.
Golden Knights: 1-2-0
Mammoth: 2-1-0
Golden Knights X-Factor: Mitch Marner
While his old team toiled through a disastrous season in Toronto, star winger Marner’s fresh start in the desert has him playoff bound.
Marner closed out the season fifth on the team in goals (24) and second in both assists (56) and points (80) behind Jack Eichel. Those numbers are drops across the board compared to his days in Toronto, where last year he set career-highs in assists while hitting the 100-point milestone for the first time in his career. This isn’t a knock, but rather a statement on Marner’s use up and down Vegas’ lineup and across all three forward positions. He’s had a rotating cast of linemates all year, and has spent the bulk of his season suiting up not on the wing but at centre. It’s easy to see why, considering Marner’s elite defensive skillset and crafty takeaway capabilities, but the adjustments have meant less time for the forward to gel with linemates like he did so well in Toronto.
How Tortorella deploys Marner in the post-season will have a massive impact on his team’s playoff fate. And, rightly or wrongly, it will also play into Marner’s post-season legacy, which has seen a star playmaker struggle to score in the playoffs. A fresh slate with Vegas could be the perfect ticket to turn that around.
Mammoth X-Factor: Karel Vejmelka
Like much of this roster, Karel Vejmelka is about to get his first taste of playoff hockey. And there’s no easing into it — the 29-year-old is about to face a daunting collection of goal-scorers who know what it takes to win it all.
Vejmelka’s regular-season stats show a netminder who ranks second league-wide in wins (38) but has struggled with consistency. His .897 save percentage and 2.75 goals-against average have him ranked in the twenties among NHL goalies. The Mammoth’s playing style lends itself well to limiting opponents’ scoring chances, which has eased the pressure on Vejmelka at times. Play that way, and they give their goalie a chance to shine.
That the Golden Knights have their own big questions in net actually gives Utah the edge in this goalie matchup.
In three starts against the Golden Knights, Vejmelka’s won twice, including a 28-save shutout in their final meeting on March 19. His .947 save percentage against Vegas is the second-best by a goalie with two or more starts against the club this season, as is his 1.67 goals-against average. He might just have their number… but can he do it consistently across a best-of-seven series?
ADVANCED STATS
(5-on-5 totals from Natural Stat Trick)
1. Goalie questions plentiful for Golden Knights
In three regular-season meetings with the Golden Knights, the Mammoth have faced three different goaltenders. They chased Adin Hill early with three goals on three shots in their last meeting in March before Akira Schmid shut the door in relief. They scored three against Carl Lindbom in late November in what was a four-goal outing for Logan Cooley (including two empty-netters), and nine days before that, they managed just a single marker against Schmid in a loss.
Now, they’re most likely about to face a fourth different face on Sunday in Carter Hart. With Hill looking lost of late, the club has leaned on Hart down the stretch and the netminder rewarded his team with a string of wins. His season numbers are a bit deceiving (2.71 GAA, .891 SV%) considering how well he’s played in April. His save percentage dipped below .900 just once through his six-game win streak to close out the campaign.
Similar to Utah’s story in net, the Golden Knights probably don’t need Hart to steal the series, considering how strong the blue line is. Falter, though, and the Golden Knights could be in trouble.
2. How far can the new-coach bump take them?
Amid a rare wave of late-season firings and hirings in front offices and behind benches across the league was the eyebrow-raising decision to replace Stanley Cup-winning coach Cassidy with Tortorella. Known for his fiery ways, Tortorella immediately sparked change in Vegas, and the team responded down the stretch to clinch the division’s top spot.
The two-time Jack Adams Award winner, and Stanley Cup champ with the Lightning back in 2004, has helped harness Vegas’ strong defence and clearly revived a team that was starting to look stale. Can Tortorella keep his foot on the gas in the post-season?
3. Vegas has the edge on special teams, but are the numbers deceiving?
There’s a clear advantage when it comes to power play and penalty kill in this series, and it belongs to Vegas. The Golden Knights boast top-10 numbers in both categories, which should factor pretty heavily into this series if they can keep that up.
Only… it’s not that simple. Utah’s slow start with the man advantage dragged down their season averages. Since Jan. 1, the Mammoth rank eighth in power-play success rate (24.8), which is on par with Vegas’ numbers in the same time frame. Narrow the window even smaller, and you’ll see a Utah club that’s truly clicked to the tune of a 30.6 per cent PP since March 1 while Vegas’ went in the opposite direction.
Penalty killing, though, still favours Vegas. The team has been remarkably consistent on that front all year, while Utah has struggled to find its footing short-handed.
1. Another new chapter begins in Utah
Two years ago, the Arizona Coyotes were bidding their fans farewell in a rink made for college hockey. After a whirlwind summer that saw the franchise’s front office and players move north to Salt Lake City with new ownership and a clean slate all around, the team introduced themselves to their new home fans, who fell in love with them instantly. Now, they’re rewarding hockey’s newest fanbase with their first taste of the playoffs.
This is an experienced blue line (more on that, below) but look across the forward group and you’ll see this franchise-first playoff appearance is also a first for several budding stars. Experience counts for a lot in the post-season, but we’ve seen newbies upset the order plenty in this league — Vegas knows that better than most.
No matter how this series goes, it’s cause for celebration in Utah. And when the setting shifts to Salt Lake City for Games 3 and 4, it’ll be a special sight to see.
2. Can Guenther build on breakout?
His first season in Utah brought a breakout year on the stat sheet. His second saw him become the franchise’s first-ever 40-goal scorer. Now, Dylan Guenther has an opportunity to put his stamp on the post-season, too. Utah’s leader in goals (he’s third in points, behind captain Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz) has a shot tailor-made for playoff hockey, and looks ready for yet another breakout on yet another new stage.
The 23-year-old Edmontonian sat out for Utah’s final game of the regular season on Thursday night for undisclosed reasons. Whether that’s injury related or simply rest is unclear, but if he’s ready to go Sunday against Vegas he’ll have an opportunity to set the pace and make his mark in the post-season.
3. Weegar takes on big role as two former Flames go head-to-head
The Golden Knights’ all-in approach to contention struck again in January when they landed Flames defenceman Rasmus Andersson in a pre-deadline trade. Utah joined the party shortly after when they, too, partnered up with Calgary on the trade market, bringing in Mackenzie Weegar. Now, the two former teammates and sometimes-partners on Calgary’s blue line are about to go head-to-head in the playoffs. And they’ll both be doing some heavy lifting as they do.
Of the two, Weegar has the potential to make the biggest impact for his side as he suits up on the top pair alongside Mikhail Sergachev and adds some much-needed stability to this group, especially amid uncertainty around the injury status of Sean Durzi. It’s a group that boasts plenty of experience compared to the young guys starring up front. Sergachev and Ian Cole both have two Stanley Cup rings. Nate Schmidt won one with Florida last year and made long runs with the Capitals and Golden Knights before that. Weegar went to the playoffs with Florida three times before joining the Flames and falling short of the post-season, but his role as a leader in Calgary carries him into a similar position in Utah. That veteran experience will serve this young team well.