If the Vegas Golden Knights were the slightest bit nervous before a potential series-clinching Game 6 against the Utah Mammoth, they didn’t let it show. The locker room was loose after Friday’s morning skate– Rasmus Andersson cracked jokes with Noah Hanifin, while Mitch Marner looked cool as a cucumber. In fact, you might have thought they were preparing for a game they already knew they were going to win.
That’s how they played, too. The Golden Knights were all over the Mammoth right from puck drop, and they didn’t relent until the final horn. Even their celebrations were business as usual following a 5-1 victory to send them into Round Two.
“We’ve been here before,” said Mark Stone following the blowout win. “We don’t have the panic. Maybe some teams do, but we calm ourselves pretty quickly.”
The Golden Knights came out swinging and outshot the Mammoth 10-6 in the first. They didn’t press for offense; they simply waited for the Mammoth to make a mistake. They finally capitalized on one at 15:02 into the period.
Lawson Crouse misread a play as the Mammoth tried to exit the zone, and Mitch Marner took it back the other way. He played catch with Mark Stone, moved into the slot, and fired a shot that went wide of the net. The puck bounced off the end boards right onto the stick of Brett Howden, who chipped it in for his fourth goal in three games.
The Mammoth came flying out of the gate in the second period and generated four high-danger scoring chances in the first few minutes. However, they simply couldn’t sustain enough offensive pressure to make it count; the Golden Knights had no such problem.
The Golden Knights capped off a 2-minute, 42-second shift in the offensive zone with a goal at 19:15 in the first. With five tired Mammoth on the ice, Ivan Barbashev made a great play to find Mitch Marner fresh from the bench in the high slot. Marner took advantage of Utah’s tired players, blew by Michael Carcone, and beat Karel Vejmelka with a clapper from the right dot.
The Mammoth got on the board at 7:41 in the third. Mikhail Sergachev sent a stretch-pass to Kailer Yamamoto, who entered the zone with speed and beat Carter Hart with a snipe from the right dot.
Yamamoto’s goal energized the crowd, and the Mammoth fed off of it. But as Stone said, the Golden Knights simply ‘don’t have the panic,’ and they snuffed Utah’s surge out as quickly as it started.
The Golden Knights restored their two-goal lead less than two minutes after Yamamoto’s goal. Nic Dowd won an offensive zone draw, and Colton Sissons banged in Brayden McNabb’s rebound.
“There was no panic on the bench,” said head coach John Tortorella postgame. “We just settled ourselves down…. For us to come back, and just taking a shot on goal, looking for a rebound, playing in the blue… The third goal was a pretty big one for us.”
From there, the Mammoth had nothing; the Golden Knights were home free. Mitch Marner scored his second of the game on the power play at 12:09 in the third to cap off a three-point night.
The Mammoth pulled Vejmelka for the extra attacker with over four minutes remaining in regulation, but weren’t able to generate any offense. Cole Smith hit the empty net at 16:24 in the third, and the Golden Knights cruised through the final three minutes of regulation.
Three Takeaways of the Knight
1. There’s no way Mitch Marner wasn’t feeling the pressure heading into Game 6. Despite playing well and doing the little things right all series, the production wasn’t there. But when his team needed him, he answered the call. He scored two goals, including the game-winner, and recorded a team-leading seven shots on net.
“I’ve had a couple of opportunities in that same area that I just have missed on, and that’s why I kind of just decided to quickly wind one up and see if I can get a clapper through. Lucky enough, it went through and found a hole and found the net,” said Marner following the win. “Yeah, just trust yourself. Trust yourself in those moments.”
2. Carter Hart didn’t have the best stats in Games 2-5, but John Tortorella’s confidence in him never wavered.
“I don’t look at the numbers,” said Tortorella on Friday morning. “Carter made three or four huge saves at key times. That’s what playoffs are… I look at momentum swings in the game, and what he’s done for us to keep us in it if we’re not playing well.”
Tortorella’s confidence paid off in a big way. Hart finished the night with 21 saves and a 1.37GSAx.
3. When the Golden Knights are on their game defensively, they frustrate their opponents to no end. That’s exactly what happened tonight, and there was a moment in the second period when Mammoth captain Clayton Keller smashed his stick against the glass after a failed scoring chance.
The Mammoth are brimming with young talent, but that youth also equates to inexperience. The Golden Knights’ veteran maturity matters, and they’ll be facing another young and inexperienced opponent in Round Two in the Anaheim Ducks.
