Mammoth Win For Utah In Game 2

The Utah Mammoth made history on Tuesday night. They won the first Stanley Cup playoff game in franchise history. Utah defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 at T-Mobile Arena in Game 2 of the Western Conference First Round.

Utah did not allow the 4-2 loss in Game 1 to crush or intimidate them. Yes, the Mammoth have less experience than Vegas (eight trips to the playoffs in nine seasons) and a Stanley Cup win in 2023. Utah is a resilient team and will continue to showcase that in this series.

The Mammoth blew a 2-1 third period lead in Game 1 and were outhit 51-31. However, they didn’t fold under pressure and responded well in Game 2. Utah out-hit Vegas 39-33 in Game 2.

Mammoth to Host First Ever Playoff Game in Utah

The Mammoth will host their first ever home playoff game with the best-of-7 series tied 1-1. Game 3 is at Delta Center on Friday (9:30 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, Utah 16, SCRIPPS, TBS, TVAS2, SN360).

“I know all the guys in here, and the organization is super excited to see what the Delta Center’s like,” Utah defenseman MacKenzie Weegar said. “I’m sure (the fans are) all anxious to get in that building and provide a lot of momentum for our group. We’re going to be ready to go, and I’m sure we’ll come out of the gates flying for them.”

The fans in Utah will have plenty of reasons to cheer after what they saw in Game 2. In their second season in the NHL and first playoff series, the Mammoth showed toughness and resiliency. Two of their young stars, Dylan Guenther (23) and Logan Cooley (21), made huge plays. Kailer Yamamoto picked up two assists in the game.

Game 2 Recap

Mark Stone opened the scoring for the Golden Knights with a power-play goal at 11:42 of the first period. MacKenzie Weegar notched the tying goal at 16:59. The Mammoth were outshot 10-6 in the first period.

Utah took its first lead of the game when Dylan Guenther scored at 14:56 in the second period. However, the lead was short-lived as Vegas tied the game at 15:58 on a goal by Ivan Barbashev. The second period was a much better period for the Mammoth as they outshot Vegas 13-4.

With the game seeming like it was destined to go to overtime, Logan Cooley broke the tie at 14:00 of the third period. Vegas pulled their goaltender late in the game to try to tie it, but Karel Vejmelka stood tall in the Mammoth net.