Maybe it’s time to take the Utah Mammoth a little more seriously.
Four games is still a tiny slice of a season, and nobody’s handing out anything based on that alone. But after Tuesday night’s 5-3 win over the New Jersey Devils, Utah is 3-1, sitting atop the Central Division, and looking like a team with more going for it than a simple fast start.
The biggest reason is easy to spot: the power play has been outrageous.
Utah went 2-for-4 against New Jersey and is now 8-for-13 on the man advantage this season, a 61.5% clip. That number is obviously not going to hold forever, but the bigger takeaway is that the Mammoth are doing real damage when opponents put them on the power play.
They’re not just getting looks. They’re cashing them in.
Nick Schmaltz and Clayton Keller have been driving that surge from the top of the lineup, and both kept it rolling against the Devils. Keller scored in the first period, Schmaltz put Utah ahead 3-2 in the second, and the offense kept stacking goals from there with MacKenzie Weegar, Lawson Crouse and Vincent Trocheck all scoring as well.
There was one ugly moment in an otherwise strong night for Utah. Mikhail Sergachev left late in the second period after taking a puck to the back of his helmet.
Before that, though, he had already reached a major career marker, picking up his 300th assist on his second helper of the night. That came in his 634th NHL game.
The win also snapped a frustrating run against New Jersey. Utah had lost all four of its previous meetings with the Devils across its first two seasons, so this one gave the Mammoth a small but meaningful box to check.
Now the bigger picture starts to come into focus. Colorado still owns the Central Division spotlight after winning the division last season and taking the Presidents’ Trophy, and nobody is rushing to move Utah past the Avalanche. But the Mammoth don’t need that conversation yet.
What they’ve earned so far is something simpler: a seat at the table.
They get another chance to show this isn’t just early-season noise Wednesday night in Winnipeg against the Jets. For the moment, though, Utah has four games, three wins, two hot forwards and a power play that has been nearly impossible to stop.
That’s a pretty good place to be.
In Other News...
Mikhail Sergachev's Status Suddenly Matters A Lot For Utah's Defense
Utah left New Jersey with a 5-3 win and a useful reminder of how much different the defense looks when Mikhail Sergachev is driving the play. Nick Schmaltz scored his fifth goal of the season, Sergachev picked up three assists and the Mammoth had enough offense to outlast the Devils, a result that should have been more about the standings than the blue line.
Instead, the bigger concern came late in the second period, when Sergachev exited after absorbing a puck and his status was left uncertain. With other injuries already thinning Utahs defense, any absence from one of its most important puck movers would ripple quickly, and it is the kind of situation that naturally leads to questions about whether the team might need outside help if the timeline stretches out. [Read more 🡒]
Roadrunners Take Early Frustration Into A Defining First Road Test
The Tucson Roadrunners head into their first road games of the season this weekend with a chance to reset the early tone of their schedule, visiting the San Jose Barracuda on Friday and Saturday. After a stretch that has already given the team some early frustration, Tucson has also seen a few encouraging signs from its younger group, with rookies beginning to chip in and some of the familiar contributors from last season again carrying weight in the lineup.
San Jose should provide a stern test after a recent overtime win, especially with the Barracuda in the middle of a six-game homestand and looking to keep momentum at home. For Tucson, the question is less about survival on the road than whether this trip can start to reveal a clearer identity, one shaped by the blend of first-year players trying to find their footing and established pieces expected to set the pace. [Read more 🡒]