The Utah Mammoth came away with a 4-3 overtime win against the Winnipeg Jets, with Clayton Keller delivering the best gift a Mammoth fan could ask for – an overtime win at home ahead of the Christmas break.
However, Dylan Guenther is the one who deserves credit for that gift. He is the one who opted to pass the puck to Keller rather than take a shot himself. When asked after the game about why he decided to pass, Guenther said he and Keller actually talked before overtime started, and drew up a plan to attack with speed. It looks like it paid off.
Keller’s OT winner is a new record. He recorded the fastest goal in Utah Mammoth history, scoring just 13 seconds into overtime. It beat Lawson Crouse’s previous mark of 16 seconds against the Seattle Kraken on April 8th by three seconds.
Mammoth Star Fooled Everyone
It would have come as a surprise to nobody if Guenther elected to shoot the puck himself. He has registered 19 game-winning goals in his 186 NHL games played. Both he and Keller were coming in with plenty of speed on the 2-on-1, and he was in a great position to shoot. Everyone from the stands, Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck, and possibly his own teammates on the Utah bench, were thinking that Guenther would take the shot.
So, with everyone fooled, Guenther made the smart play and passed the puck to a wide-open Keller. Mammoth head coach André Tourigny pointed out that a play like that isn’t something you can teach. All the odds pointed to him shooting in that situation, which is why it made sense to pass. At the end of the day, the Utah Mammoth got the win. Guenther can enter the Christmas break knowing that he took part in the season of giving.
