Fans flocked to the Delta Center on Friday with plenty of reasons to be excited about the Utah Mammoth. In just their second year of franchise history, the Mammoth were about to host their first playoff game against the Vegas Golden Knights. Commissioner Gary Bettman was in attendance and had just announced pregame that the Mammoth would host a Winter Classic on New Year’s Eve.

Their team certainly gave them something to cheer about. The Mammoth took a commanding lead halfway through the second period and held off a late Golden Knights push to secure a 4-2 win in their first home playoff game.

It took exactly 12:59 for the Mammoth to give the people what they wanted. After the Golden Knights lost a board battle, Keegan Kolesar disrupted a dangerous pass meant for Liam O’Brien. The puck came loose, and MacKenzie Weegar activated from the point and fired a clapper that hit Carter Hart in the mask, off his right pad, and into the net.

MacKenzie Weegar activates from the point, rips one home, and this place ERUPTS.

1-0, Mammoth

pic.twitter.com/oxg2hKFZXl

— Hannah Kirkell (@h_kirk6) April 25, 2026

The Mammoth doubled their lead on their only power play opportunity of the night at 17:45 in the first. Logan Cooley set Dylan Guenther up for a one-timer, which he blasted home from the far side.

The Utah power play has scored a goal. Really nice puck movement and Dylan Guenther unleashed a shot that actually might’ve been a bit slow for his standards.

2-0, Mammoth

pic.twitter.com/bn0lwf1wa6

— Hannah Kirkell (@h_kirk6) April 25, 2026

Hockey is a game of momentum, and a two-goal deficit is nothing for the 2026 Golden Knights. But things got away from them in the second period, and Lawson Crouse scored twice in a 5:42 span to hammer the nail into the coffin.

The first came 4:06 into the second. The Mammoth won a defensive zone face-off, and MacKenzie Weegar took it the other way and found Lawson Crouse at center ice. Crouse fed Nick Schmaltz; Schmaltz entered the zone and set Crouse up for his first goal of the postseason.

Utah’s top line this time. Lawson Crouse with a really great deflection.

3-0, Mammoth

pic.twitter.com/vVzlsSjHgw

— Hannah Kirkell (@h_kirk6) April 25, 2026

At 9:48 in the second, the Mammoth capitalized on another Golden Knights mistake. Clayton Keller intercepted a clearing attempt and found Lawson Crouse to keep the play alive. Crouse stepped into the slot and wristed a shot past Carter Hart for his second of the night.

That top line is really cooking now. Lawson Crouse with his second of the night.

4-0, Mammoth

pic.twitter.com/JNRr1w0LpI

— Hannah Kirkell (@h_kirk6) April 25, 2026

The Golden Knights finally solved Karel Vejmelka at 13:20 in the second. Mark Stone found Ivan Barbashev in front of the net, and Jack Eichel cleaned up the change.

Golden Knights get one back. Eichel’s first of the playoffs.

4-1, Mammoth

pic.twitter.com/hEtObqafG5

— Hannah Kirkell (@h_kirk6) April 25, 2026

The Golden Knights pushed in the third period, and, in addition to limiting the Mammoth to one shot on goal, scored again with 3:18 remaining in regulation. Cole Smith set up Nic Dowd for his second of the postseason to cut Utah’s lead to two.

Nic Dowd - Vegas Golden Knights (2)* pic.twitter.com/AUt1ciIQYx

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) April 25, 2026

Dowd’s goal gave them a new lease on life, and the Golden Knights pulled Carter Hart for the extra attacker. However, they didn’t register a shot on goal; despite an inability to hit the empty net, the Mammoth held on for a 4-2 win to take a 2-1 series lead.

Three Takeaways of the Knight

1. Despite Friday marking the first home playoff game for the Utah Mammoth in franchise history, head coach John Tortorella wasn’t afraid of an energetic Delta Center. Instead, he saw it as something for his Golden Knights to feed off of.

“We loved coming to [T-Mobile Arena], because I think it helps the visiting team,” said Tortorella on Friday morning. “I think it’s a wash point, honestly. I think our players are entertainers. They love playing in front of people, and I’m sure it’s going to be very exciting here tonight for both teams.”

To Tortorella’s credit, the Golden Knights didn’t seem intimidated by the raucous crowd. By the end of the second period, shots were 23-11 in favor of Vegas. But some demons are hard to exorcise– once again, despite recording 32 shots and generating38 total scoring chances, they simply couldn’t do the only thing that matters in hockey: actually score the goals.

2. Tortorella is quick to change his lines, but he’s not considering making a change in goal.

“I know Carter well enough; he wants to work through it. I have faith in him. There was no thought of taking him out [tonight],” Tortorella said postgame. “I don't look at his game [tonight] as being a real bad game; it was a weird game for him. But I know him so well. He has an attitude and a mental toughness about him at that position. He'll be fine.”

3. For better or worse, the players aren’t worried right now. This is a veteran group, and being down 2-1 in a series doesn’t frighten them. They believe in the process, and they believe that they’re on the right track.

“We’re not going to win every single game. You do the math– you could lose 12 and still win the Stanley Cup,” Nic Dowd said postgame. “If any team plays the right way, and they do it consistently, they’re going to come out on top eventually.”

The Golden Knights are doing— and saying— the right things. But if the last three years are anything to go by… Well, you know what they say about the road to hell.

Tampa Bay Lightning (50-26-6, in the Atlantic Division) vs. Montreal Canadiens (48-24-10, in the Atlantic Division)

Montreal, Quebec; Sunday, 7 p.m. EDT

LINE: Lightning -116, Canadiens -104; over/under is 6

NHL PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND: Canadiens lead series 2-1

BOTTOM LINE: The Montreal Canadiens host the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the NHL Playoffs with a 2-1 lead in the series. The teams meet Friday for the eighth time this season. The Canadiens won the last matchup 3-2 in overtime.

Montreal is 18-9-2 against the Atlantic Division and 48-24-10 overall. The Canadiens have a 21-6-6 record in games decided by one goal.

Tampa Bay is 17-9-3 against the Atlantic Division and 50-26-6 overall. The Lightning have a 17-7-4 record when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent.

TOP PERFORMERS: Nicholas Suzuki has scored 29 goals with 72 assists for the Canadiens. Juraj Slafkovsky has four goals and five assists over the last 10 games.

Brandon Hagel has 36 goals and 38 assists for the Lightning. Nikita Kucherov has four goals and six assists over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Canadiens: 6-3-1, averaging 2.5 goals, 4.6 assists, 5.7 penalties and 14.9 penalty minutes while giving up 2.7 goals per game.

Lightning: 4-4-2, averaging 2.4 goals, 4.1 assists, 6.7 penalties and 17.4 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game.

INJURIES: Canadiens: Patrik Laine: out (abdomen), Noah Dobson: out (thumb).

Lightning: Charle-Edouard D'Astous: day to day (undisclosed), Victor Hedman: out (personal), Pontus Holmberg: out (upper-body).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Buffalo Sabres (50-23-9, in the Atlantic Division) vs. Boston Bruins (45-27-10, in the Atlantic Division)

Boston; Sunday, 2 p.m. EDT

LINE: Bruins -115, Sabres -105; over/under is 6

NHL PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND: Sabres lead series 2-1

BOTTOM LINE: The Buffalo Sabres visit the Boston Bruins in the first round of the NHL Playoffs with a 2-1 lead in the series. The teams meet Thursday for the eighth time this season. The Sabres won 3-1 in the last meeting.

Boston has a 45-27-10 record overall and a 12-14-3 record in Atlantic Division games. The Bruins rank second in league play serving 11.9 penalty minutes per game.

Buffalo has a 50-23-9 record overall and an 18-7-4 record in Atlantic Division play. The Sabres have a 46-4-8 record when scoring three or more goals.

TOP PERFORMERS: Morgan Geekie has 39 goals and 29 assists for the Bruins. Mark Kastelic has three goals and one assist over the last 10 games.

Rasmus Dahlin has 19 goals and 55 assists for the Sabres. Alex Tuch has scored six goals and added four assists over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Bruins: 3-5-2, averaging 2.4 goals, 4.5 assists, 4.4 penalties and 10.7 penalty minutes while giving up 2.3 goals per game.

Sabres: 6-3-1, averaging 3.4 goals, 5.7 assists, 5.3 penalties and 14.4 penalty minutes while giving up 2.5 goals per game.

INJURIES: Bruins: None listed.

Sabres: Jiri Kulich: out for season (ear), Sam Carrick: out (arm), Josh Norris: day to day (undisclosed), Justin Danforth: out for season (kneecap).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

MONTREAL (AP) — What a difference 72 hours made for Kirby Dach.

On Tuesday, the Montreal forward drew the ire of fans after an ill-timed icing and a defensive lapse in overtime led to J.J. Moser’s winning goal in a 3—2 Game 2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

By Friday night in front of a roaring Bell Centre crowd, Dach flipped the script, turning frustration into redemption with a goal and an assist in the Canadiens’ 3-2 overtime win that gave Montreal a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven matchup.

“I think you take that night (Tuesday) and you kind of sit on it, dwell on it and understand what you could have done better,” Dach said. “Come Wednesday morning, you’ve got to be able to move on and get ready for tonight’s game."

The vitriol spewed online toward the Dach following the Game 2 loss, forcing the 6-foot-4 center to delete his Instagram account.

Many Canadiens fans also took to social media and local sports talk radio phone lines, calling for coach Martin St. Louis to scratch the forward in favor of Joe Veleno or veteran Brendan Gallagher.

St. Louis wasn’t having any of it.

“I’m not going to give up on a player unless he gives up on himself,” St. Louis said. “Kirby Dach is a really good hockey player. Like any good player, they make mistakes sometimes at key moments. It happens to everyone. It happens to a lot of good players. For sure, he was upset but that’s not a reason to give up on a player.”

Canadiens fans in attendance on Friday were quick to shower the 25-year-old player with love from the get-go. Dach was given a hearty ovation when shown on the scoreboard during warm-ups, with fans chanting “Kir-by! Kir-by!” both before and throughout the game.

“I didn’t really expect it, so it was nice,” Dach said. “The fans have been unbelievable for us all year. For me, they’ve stuck by my side through a lot. It definitely meant a lot.”

Those chants only increased following Dach’s assist on linemate Alexandre Texier’s opening goal early in the first period.

The applause reached a crescendo following confirmation of Dach’s second-period tally, a shot from inside the faceoff circle that bounced off Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh and past goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy to tie it at 2.

The newly-formed line of Dach, Texier and Zachary Bolduc, playing together for the first time all season, were on the ice for all three Canadiens goals, including Lane Hutson’s overtime score 2:09 into the extra session. The trio finished the game with a combined six points and six of Montreal’s 29 shots on goal on the night.

It has been a trying season for the oft-injured Dach, having scored just eight goals and 15 points across 37 games during the regular season. His offensive output Friday marked Dach’s first goal and first point at the Bell Centre since Feb. 28. It was also the forward’s first multi-point outing since Jan. 29.

“I’ve been through a lot on the injury front,” Dach said. “I’ve gone through the ups and downs of it and the learning lessons of what it takes and maybe what works and what doesn’t work. I’ve kind of found a recipe to be able to stay in game shape and sharp in the mind mentally and physically be ready to go when it’s time to go.”

Game 4 is Sunday in Montreal.

___

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

MONTREAL (AP) — Lane Hutson scored on a slap shot at 2:09 of overtime and the Montreal Canadiens beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round series that has opened with three extra-time thrillers.

Hutson fired a shot from the top of right circle that went through traffic and found the top left corner behind goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy on the only shot on goal in overtime.

Kirby Dach tied it for Montreal with 7:17 left in the second period. He fired a snap shot through traffic from the top of the right circle that beat Vasilevskiy on the short side.

Game 4 is Sunday night in Montreal. The Canadiens took the opener 4-3 on Sunday and the Lightning countered 3-2 on Tuesday night.

MAMMOTH 4, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 2

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Lawson Crouse scored twice in a 5:42 span in the second period and Utah won the first NHL playoff game in the state, beating Vegas for a 2-1 series lead.

Game 4 of the best-of-seven series is Monday night in Salt Lake City. In Las Vegas in the first two games, Vegas won the opener 4-2 on Sunday and Utah replied with a 3-2 victory Tuesday.

The Mammoth are in their second season in Utah after leaving Arizona.

MacKenzie Weegar and Dylan Guenther scored for Utah in the first period, with Guenther striking on a power play. Crouse had a tip-in at 4:06 of the second and struck on a long shot at 9:48 to make it 4-0.

Karel Vejmelka made 29 saves for the Mammoth, who had only 12 shots on goal against Carter Hart. Clayton Keller had two assists.

DUCKS 7, OILERS 4

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Beckett Sennecke and Leo Carlsson scored 42 seconds apart in the third period, Mikael Granlund had a goal and two assists, and Anaheim celebrated their first home playoff game in eight years with a victory over Edmonton and a 2-1 series lead.

Jeffrey Viel and Jackson LaCombe also scored in the third and Lukas Dostal made 20 saves for the upstart Ducks, who have poured in 16 goals in three games to take an early lead in this first-round series against the two-time Western Conference champion Oilers. Mason McTavish and Alex Killorn scored early goals.

Hundreds of fans who tossed their Golden Knights jerseys into a bin in exchange for a Utah Mammoth sweater before Game 3 of the teams' opening round series had plenty to cheer about Friday night.

The Mammoth scored four unanswered goals and held off Vegas' late rally for a 4-2 win in Salt Lake City to take a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven series.

Lawson Crouse scored twice in the second period, including the game-winning goal, to lead Utah's offensive attack. MacKenzie Weegar and Dylan Guenther also scored for the Mammoth, while Karel Vejmelka stopped 30 shots.

Jack Eichel scored his first goal of the postseason in the second period, while Nic Dowd cut Utah's lead in half in the third period with his second of the postseason. Carter Hart made eight saves, as Utah managed just 12 shots.

"They got the first goal, I thought we came in, we had a good first 10 minutes," Eichel said. "We knew it was gonna be a good environment. I thought we played a good game. It was a bit of a weird one. We didn't give up a ton."

Vegas' 20-shot differential made it difficult to understand how the Knights lost an ample opportunity to steal the home-ice edge back, especially with Utah managing just one shot in the third period.

The Mammoth continued to do a good job of slowing Vegas' offensive attack in the neutral zone, which has meant quality chances from the offensive zone.

Vejmelka, for the most part though, was a wall for the Mammoth, improving to 2-1 in the postseason after allowing just two goals for the second straight game.

"It's always unfortunate when you lose, there's gonna be games where you play great and you don't get the outcome that you want," said Dowd, who added three shots to his goal. "I think there's a reason why it's a seven-game series and not a one-game playoff or a three-game series. You're not gonna win every single game. You do the math, you can lose 12 and still win a Stanley Cup.

"We're on to the next game."

KEY MOMENT

With former Knight Nate Schmidt in the box for an interference call against Tomas Hertl, Vegas had a chance to seize momentum by scoring a power-play goal before the second intermission. A goal would have cut Utah's lead in half, and clearly would have been momentous for Vegas coming out of the locker room down 4-2, rather than 4-1.

KEY STAT

0 for 4 ... After finishing the regular season with the sixth-best power play (24.6%), the Knights failed to capitalize on any of their four opportunities in Game 3. They were 1 for 1 in Game 1 and 1 for 4 in Game 2, but failed four times in Game 3. After a power play in each of the first two periods, two more came in the third period, but the Knights couldn't bully the newest franchise.

"Obviously, the power play, we have to find a way to score as a group," Eichel said. "We hit two hockey posts in that second one in the second period. It just needs to be simplified, urgency, get pucks to the net, crash the net. But at the same time, we gotta be confident when we have it and make the right play. Unfortunately, we weren't able to score tonight. It's something we need to help the team with the man advantage."

WHAT A KNIGHT

Eichel appeared to be as active as he could have been during 22:23 time on ice. He had three shots to go along with his goal. He also registered 6:37 TOI during the power play, and another 0:25 during a penalty kill. Last season, after the Knights fell behind 1-2 in their opening-round series with the Minnesota Wild, Eichel had an assist in the Knights' 4-3 overtime win in Game 4, the first of six straight playoff games that he registered a point.

UP NEXT

The Golden Knights continue their best-of-seven playoff series with the Mammoth in Game 4 from Salt Lake City on Monday.

"We're a veteran group," Eichel said. "We've been in a situation of being down in series. We know it's a best-of-seven. In terms of a response, just go out there and play our game. Do the things that make us successful. We're gonna prepare for Monday and go find a way to win a hockey game."

PHOTO CAPTION

Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel (9) plays the puck against the Utah Mammoth during the second period in game three of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Delta Center.

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are bringing in some reinforcements for the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs. 

They have officially signed forwards Kale Dach, Jordan Charron, and Travis Hayes to amateur tryout agreements. The news was released on Thursday. 

Dach was picked by the Penguins in the seventh round of the 2025 NHL Draft and just wrapped up a great season with the WHL's Calgary Hitmen, finishing with 34 goals and 75 points in 63 games. He also compiled three goals and seven points in seven playoff games. 

The Penguins have signed Kale Dach, Jordan Charron and Travis Hayes to amateur tryout agreements.
All three forwards were drafted by Pittsburgh in this past summer's 2025 NHL Entry Draft.https://t.co/YjWqK3T59Bpic.twitter.com/D4fFtEnqYC

— x - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) April 23, 2026

It will go down as his only season in the WHL since he's committed to Penn State for the 2026-27 season. 

Charron was selected by the Penguins in the fifth round of the 2025 NHL Draft and just played his second season with the OHL's Soo Greyhounds. He finished with 25 goals and 47 points in 66 games before compiling three goals and four points in 10 playoff games. 

Hayes was a fourth-round pick by the Penguins in last year's draft and has been Charron's teammate for the last two years. He finished the 2025-26 season with 16 goals and 40 points in 63 games and had one goal and three points in 10 playoff games. He's also the younger brother of Avery Hayes. 

WBS is still waiting to learn who it will face in the second round of the Calder Cup Playoffs. 

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Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!  

The Pittsburgh Penguins' season will be on the line in Philadelphia on Saturday.

The Penguins are down 3-0 in their first-round series against the Flyers and will be eliminated from the playoffs with one more loss. Now, if they win, they'd send the series back to Pittsburgh for a Game 5. 

However, there's still a chance that Saturday's game could be Evgeni Malkin's final game as a Penguin since he's set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer. He spoke to the media about it on Friday and, once again, confirmed that he wants to be back with the Penguins next year and retire a Penguin. 

“I hope it’s not over," Malkin said, via King Jemison of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "I hope we’re still fighting. And my future again, I say the same thing. I want to be here. I want to be part of a team next year, too, and I want to be retired in Pittsburgh. But it’s not my choice. It’s Kyle’s decision. New owners, probably, too."

Evgeni Malkin on his future: “I hope it’s not over. I hope we’re still fighting. And my future, again … I want to be here. I want to be part of a team next year, too, and I want to be retired in Pittsburgh. But it’s not my choice. It’s Kyle’s decision. New owners probably, too.” pic.twitter.com/VZ6fHYAstT

— King Jemison (@king_jemison) April 24, 2026

Malkin has been one of the Penguins' best players in this series, compiling two goals and three points in three games. He also finished the regular season with 19 goals and 61 points in 56 games. 

He has shown that he can still play at a strong level in the NHL, but it'll be up to general manager/president Kyle Dubas if he returns. 

Puck drop for Game 4 on Saturday is set for 8 p.m. ET on TBS, truTV, HBO Max, and SportsNet Pittsburgh.

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Two of the Islanders’ biggest holes should fill themselves this offseason.

The Isles struggled all year to adequately replace Kyle Palmieri’s production after he tore his ACL, and ended up trading a third-round pick to the Rangers for Carson Soucy in an attempt to fill the hole left by Alexander Romanov’s shoulder injury.

Both players are expected to be back without any limitations on day one of training camp which does, at least, change some of the contours of the offseason, even if their returns will come too late to save the Islanders from missing the playoffs.

“Disgusting. Terrible,” Romanov said of how it felt to miss all but 15 games this year. “It’s really tough to just watch hockey all season long and just practicing and rehabbing. That’s what I was dealing with.”

Had the Islanders made the playoffs, Romanov would likely be in the lineup right now. When the season ended, he had rejoined practices and was getting close to playing in games. His summer should be close to normal, albeit with a little extra work on his shoulder.

The same doesn’t necessarily hold true for Palmieri. While he may have attempted a comeback had the Islanders made a deep run, he said on breakup day that he’s “got a couple more months here of the day to day of the rehab stuff.”

The history of players returning from ACL injuries also shows that it usually takes some time to play at the same level as before; Anders Lee, for example, has talked before about not feeling like himself for much of his first season back after suffering the same injury.

The speed at which Palmieri recovers, and the role Romanov ends up playing, are both massive questions for the Islanders’ 2026-27 hopes.

The Islanders were depending on Palmieri to score 25-30 goals and finish with around 50 points when they signed him to a two-year extension last summer, and after his injury, that production was never really replaced. In a free agency class that’s not highly regarded by general manager Mathieu Darche, it’s doubtful there’s an easy option available on the open market for the Islanders to plug into their top six either.

So there’s a strong possibility that a lot hinges on their hope that Palmieri can recover his game quickly.

“I’m a little over four months post-op. It’s feeling really good on the ice,” said Palmieri, who had begun skating on his own before the season ended. “I’m looking forward to putting this behind me and having a pretty normal summer as far as training and getting ready for the season.”

As for Romanov, his reentry into the fold presents Darche with an interesting dilemma on the left side of the blue line. 

After Matthew Schaefer’s ascendence into superstardom came so quickly, Romanov — who the Islanders signed to an eight-year deal at $6.25 million annually last summer — suddenly looks like the third-pair defenseman, behind both Schaefer and Adam Pelech.

That trio also means there’s no obvious spot for Isaiah George, another lefty, to play after a season in which injuries meant George never really got his chance while the Islanders were searching for call-ups to replace Romanov.

Do the Islanders move someone to their off-side, given their depth chart is much thinner on the right? Or do they explore moving one of Pelech, who has a 16-team no-trade clause, or George? That could be one route to improving the forward group, but it would amount to another major bet on Romanov, who’s coming off a serious injury and who struggled through the first 15 games of this season before getting hurt.

How that situation sorts itself out is a question for Darche to grapple with throughout the offseason.

As the Golden Knights approach their 10th anniversary in the NHL, they've gone from an upstart franchise looking at others for a standard to follow, to the one setting a standard for the two newest franchises that have entered the league since, league commissioner Gary Bettman and Utah Mammoth owner Ryan Smith both agreed, speaking before Game 3 in Salt Lake City on Friday night.

"You start from an expansion standpoint, Vegas and Seattle did it right, although slightly different circumstances, to here in Utah," Bettman said. "Starting with how well George McPhee managed the expansion draft, the fact that they reinvented what pregame shows are made in quintessential Vegas. It's been very gratifying to see that a market that some were skeptical about when we announced expansion, to now see that every other sport thinks they invented, it has been a little gratifying."

That owner Bill Foley and Bettman saw something before the WNBA, NFL, MLB and NBA did, in a town long known for being an adult Disneyland with its 24-hour gambling, burlesque shows and late-night steak specials, is something nobody will take away from them.

What followed after the announcement that there would be ice hockey in the desert was something nobody would predict, with one of the greatest professional sports franchise debuts in 2017-18, when the Knights made it to the Stanley Cup Final, and then hoisting the Cup in 2023. The franchise has been in the postseason in all but one season since its inception, with this year's opening round becoming special with the close ties between Utah and Nevada.

"I think the national landscape doesn't understand the proximity in so many different ways, of Utah and Las Vegas," Smith said. "Growing up in Las Vegas, it's where kids went for youth sports, it's where we went on the weekends. We're just close."

Smith, who also owns the NBA's Utah Jazz, earned the NHL's newest franchise on April 18, 2024, when the league's Board of Governors granted him an expansion franchise.

In lieu of an expansion draft to stock the new team, Smith acquired the hockey assets of the Arizona Coyotes, which suspended hockey operations at the same time, as players, coaches and draft picks simply shifted to Utah.

The team is now in its second season, and has established as fervent a fanbase as the Knights have in Vegas.

And even though the Knights were a true expansion team, and the Mammoth were a relocation project from Phoenix, it was the standard that left Smith optimistic for the future.

Our Playoff Plaza Party is UNDERWAY! 🦣🎉 pic.twitter.com/LcvMcCP8z2

— x - Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) April 24, 2026

The ties between St. George, Utah and Southern Nevada run deeper than most people might realize, as legendary basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian once held his basketball camp at Dixie College, now known as Utah Tech, in the late 1970s.

Before CSN established an athletics department, Dixie became the go-to school for Southern Nevada athletes needing a start-up vehicle before landing their dream car, er, college of choice.

So, naturally, despite the teams being in different divisions - the Mammoth in the Central and Knights in the Pacific - an opening-round series is the perfect setting for a border rivalry.

The Mammoth fired up the rivalry even more before Game 3, when the organization offered a jersey exchange in front of the Delta Center, offering Utah residents to swap their fandom from the Knights to their new team. It worked, too, as hundreds of fans lined up to swap jerseys hours before puck drop.

This is Mammoth territory. pic.twitter.com/2RNV1vdRLK

— x - Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) April 24, 2026

"As much as everyone thinks I'm just trolling (the Knights), no, it's 50 percent," Smith joked. "I think it's way more of a respect for how they've grown. And I think that's part of the responsibilities. Kind of slide over and let the new group come in, in a weird way, similar to the way that someone slid over for them to come in. And so nothing but respect."

Respect is all Smith has for Foley, McPhee and general manager Kelly McCrimmon, and everything Vegas has built the past nine seasons.

"I understand the soul that hockey has brought to Vegas in a really creative way," Smith added. "Watching it succeed there gave me a ton of confidence that it would work here. Given my background and the landscape and the way I think culturally, we're way more similar than different, and that's the part that most people don't understand."

What's clearly understood, even with the NBA and MLB arriving in the next two years, is that in helping Las Vegas establish an identity beyond the Strip, the Knights have a firm fanbase that started from day one and helped set the standard for professional sports in a town that's gone from the Entertainment Capital of the World to one of the most sought after cities for professional sports franchises and all sporting events.

THAT'S HISTORY! 🦣

The @utahmammoth hit the ice for their first ever #StanleyCup Playoff home game!

🇺🇸: TBS
🇨🇦: @Sportsnet & @TVASports 2 pic.twitter.com/VFhsuQKqHA

— NHL (@NHL) April 25, 2026

PHOTO CAPTION: NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and Utah Mammoth owner Ryan Smith speak to the media before game three of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Delta Center.

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There may never be another NHL team assembled like the 2001-02 Detroit Red Wings, who boasted a total of 10 future Hall of Fame players and were led by the legendary Scotty Bowman, the game's greatest coach. 

However, that aura seemed to fade a bit during the opening two games of the 2002 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Red Wings, who were the first overall seed by a wide margin, were matched up against the No. 8 Vancouver Canucks, who stunned them with two straight victories to open the series at Joe Louis Arena. 

Heading into Vancouver for a pivotal Game 3, the Red Wings took a 1-0 first-period lead thanks to a tally from captain Steve Yzerman, who was essentially playing on one leg.

But Vancouver knotted the score at 1-1 midway through the second frame after future Red Wings forward Todd Bertuzzi roofed a backhander past a sprawling Dominik Hasek. 

With time winding down in the second period, both teams appeared as though they would head to their respective dressing rooms to figure out a game plan on how to gain the advantage in the third period. 

However, Nicklas Lidstrom singlehandidly changed the series around with what appeared to be an innocent shot from center ice. 

Lidstrom's shot from almost 100 feet away skipped under the glove of goaltender Dan Cloutier, giving Detroit a stunning 2-1 lead. 

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Brendan Shanahan then added a tally in the third period, during which Hasek shut down Bertuzzi on a penalty shot. 

Remembering the Red Wings’ 2002 Stanley Cup Triumph, 23 Years LaterA look back at the Red Wings’ 2002 Stanley Cup victory on its 23rd anniversary highlighting key moments a star-studded roster and a historic farewell to Scotty Bowman

From that point on, the Red Wings won four straight against the Canucks, rallying from what had the makings of a disastrous first-round exit.

Eventually, they'd raise the Stanley Cup for the 10th time in team history later that spring with a five-game series win over the Carolina Hurricanes. 

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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The NHL Winter Classic for the 2026-27 season will be played on New Year’s Eve, league commissioner Gary Bettman announced on Friday.

The Utah Mammoth will host divisional rival Colorado Avalanche at Rice-Eccles Stadium on the University of Utah campus.

Bettman was in Salt Lake City for Game 3 of the first-round series between Utah and the Vegas Golden Knights.

Mammoth owner Ryan Smith said other events will be put together in conjunction with the Winter Classic to run throughout the holiday weekend — highlighted by a postgame concert at the Delta Center on New Year's Eve.

“Our hope is this is a whole weekend that is a version of an all-star game where we can come in and we can program and activate our state and show our state off,” Smith said. “You can expect a weekend of full programming of events, sports, concerts, and activities that will be pretty special.”

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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

It has only happened four times in the history of the NHL.

In 1942, the Toronto Maple Leafs came back from 3-0 to defeat the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Final. In 1975, the New York Islanders accomplished the feat against the Pittsburgh Penguins in their Wales Conference quarterfinal series. In 2010, the Philadelphia Flyers shocked the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

And, the most recent case in 2014 involved the Los Angeles Kings looking lifeless in their first three games in the opening round against the San Jose Sharks, only to storm back, win the series, and go on to win the Stanley Cup.

Coming back from down 3-0 to win a series in the NHL is extremely rare air, as the 209 other teams in NHL history that have gone down 3-0 went on to lose their respective series. But, even if it's near-impossible, it's not, in fact, impossible, and it has happened. Special teams make history for a reason. 

And, this year, there are three different opportunities in the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs for history to repeat itself. The Ottawa Senators trail the Carolina Hurricanes by a 3-0 series deficit, as do the Kings against the mighty Colorado Avalanche.

Then, there are the Penguins, who are on the brink of getting swept by their cross-state rival Flyers. 

These teams have both been players in this situation before: The Penguins were on the wrong end of it in 1975, while the Flyers did the improbable in 2010. It is the Penguins who are faced with the improbable this time around, and - to be quite frank - they have looked much like the Kings did in 2014 prior to their out-of-the-blue comeback against the Sharks. And they look just like most of those 209 other teams that couldn't pull off historical feats. 

Takeaways: Penguins' Strong Start Goes Sideways As Flyers Take Commanding 3-0 Series LeadAfter a tension-filled Game 3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, the Pittsburgh Penguins find themselves in a near-impossible 3-0 series hole heading into Game 4 on Saturday.

In Games 1 and 2 in 2014, the Kings lost 6-3 and 7-2, respectively. They did take home a 4-3 overtime loss in Game 3, which - oftentimes - is the nail in the coffin for teams in that situation. But they somehow flipped a switch, and they found a way to dominate the remaining four games. They won by sequential scores of 6-3, 3-0, 4-1, and 5-1, and - again - went on to defeat the New York Rangers in five games during the Stanley Cup Final. 

There was belief, just like there is with a lot of teams in this situation. And that belief is still alive and well in the Penguins' locker room, despite the daunting task that lies ahead of them.

And one Penguins' player has some experience in this arena, as his former team came pretty close to accomplishing the feat.

"You win one game, and a lot of things can happen, a lot of things can change," said goaltender Stuart Skinner, whose Edmonton Oilers recovered from a 3-0 deficit against the Florida Panthers in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final only to lose in Game 7. "As a team that's up 3-0, and you lose that first game... it's a tight second game, and you end up losing that second game... I mean, it's a series. Momentum shifts, and that can change a lot of things. One win can do a lot."

What Changes The Penguins, Senators And Kings Must Make To Avoid Playoff SweepThe Pittsburgh Penguins, Ottawa Senators and Los Angeles Kings need a miracle to reverse-sweep their first-round playoff opponents. But this is what they can do to win Game 4.

During media availability following Friday's practice, Skinner recalled that series, talking about how - one by one - plays built up throughout Game 4 that snowballed and allowed Edmonton to find their game again, forcing Florida to back into a bit of a corner. They took it one play at a time, one game at a time.

And that will be the Penguins' focus heading into Game 4 on Saturday in Philadelphia: win one game. It can be a bit hard to get into that headspace, especially knowing that four consecutive wins are necessary to stay alive. 

But Skinner dove into the mental side of things as well, and he is confident in his own ability to do that. 

"I've done a lot of that work in, just, my career in general, because it's the same thing in a season, too," Skinner said. "You can be having a couple tough bad games or, just, results aren't going your way, and you've got to find out how to switch that up in your mind.

"To be honest, I've been in so many situations that this feels - I don't want to say, 'normal,' because we're down 3-0, but - just normal in the sense of mentally juggling. I feel like I know how to do that."

Key For Penguins In Rest Of Series Against Flyers May Be One Simple ThingThe situation may look bleak for the Pittsburgh Penguins, as they trail their best-of-seven series to the Philadelphia Flyers, 2-0 - but there is one thing that could, potentially, make all the difference for them the rest of the way.

It helps, too, that the Penguins have a nice collection of veterans in the room who know what it takes to win. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Sam Girard all have Stanley Cup wins on their resumes, and the adversity of the playoffs is something they've all experienced to the very end, when they - ultimately - had the chance to hoist Lord Stanley in celebration on the ice. 

"It's pretty clear. I think, being in this position, you can't look too far ahead, you've just got to look at what's in front of you, and that's tomorrow and making sure that we put our best game on the ice," Crosby said. "I don't feel like we feel like we've done that for a complete game yet. Maybe different parts of games, but that first period's more of how we want to play. We just weren't able to sustain it. So, if we can put some periods together like that, then we can give ourselves a chance."

He added: "Ultimately, as a player, this is the best time of year, and it's not an ideal situation. But, at the same time, we would have took this last year. So, I think it's a matter of having the right approach, enjoying it, and just making sure we focus on what's in front of us here."

But, even though winning means everything to every player in that locker room, for guys like Skinner and Erik Karlsson - veterans who have "been there, done that" but never got to the finish line - defining moments like this mean even more. 

"We believe in ourselves, and I believe in my team."

Evgeni Malkin speaks to the media after practice ahead of Game 4 ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/rh0j5l2vJg

— x - Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 24, 2026

The last time Karlsson skated in the playoffs prior to this season was in 2019 with the Sharks. The closest he came to the Stanley Cup Final was in 2017, when the Penguins beat the Senators in dramatic fashion during a memorable Game 7 double-overtime - and when Karlsson was the best player on the ice for either team in that series. 

Karlsson and the team know what's at stake. But, at the end of the day, he's also aware that it's important to embrace the feeling of playing in the hardest postseason in sports, having fun with it, and understanding the opportunity that lies in front of them.

“We're going to have to embrace and understand that being in this situation, even though we're down 3-0, is still a lot of fun, and we would have paid a lot of money to stand here today back in October and say this is where we were going to be,” Karlsson said after Game 3. “We've just got to realize that and understand that we're a good hockey team here. We've got a great opportunity."

And, as who understands what it takes to come back in an a near-impossible situation, Skinner believes this group of Penguins has what it takes to seize that opportunity and do something very few others in NHL history have managed to accomplish. 

“You know it's possible,” Skinner said. “Statistics are fun to look at. But, it doesn't mean they're always right. What really helped me in my experience was it, kind of, just frees you up. You don't really have anything to lose.

“We've got the bodies in here. We've got a resilient group. I can say that over and over and over again, but we've proven it. We've shown it. This is the group that can definitely come back from this deficit. I certainly believe that.”

Top-5 Moves That Shaped Penguins' Successful 2025-26 SeasonThere are many moves that NHL GM of the Year frontrunner Kyle Dubas made this season to contribute to the Penguins' success - but there are five that were crucial to their first Stanley Cup Playoff berth in four years.

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