The Utah Mammoth may be one of the most anonymous teams in the four major North American sports. This is their second year playing in Salt Lake City after a long and arduous run in Arizona as the Coyotes. This is their first year with a nickname, as they were simply known as the Utah Hockey Club after leaving the desert for Salt Lake City.
However, this team is growing in stature and talent, and the Mammoth are inside the Western Conference playoff structure — and they are in an advantageous position.
The Mammoth have 11 regular-season games remaining on the schedule, and they currently sit in the No. 1 Wild Card position in the West. They have built a 37-28-6 record, and they have been consistent at home and on the road. The Mammoth have reeled off a 19-12-3 mark at the Delta Center and 18-16-3 away from home. They play 7 of their remaining games at home, and they can feel fairly secure that they will be in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The No. 1 Wild Card team in the West will play the winners of the Pacific Division. The surprising Anaheim Ducks lead the division by four points over the Vegas Golden Knights, and they are five points better than the Edmonton Oilers. The Mammoth are clearly hoping that the Ducks can hold on to their first-place status.
The Pacific Division has been brutal this season. That's not an insult to the Ducks because they have 82 points with a 39-27-4. They are speedy and explosive on offense, but they don't have anything close to the star power of the Golden Knights or Oilers.
Holding on to the No. 1 Wild Card spot is essential for the Mammoth
The Mammoth and the Ducks are near equals this season. Utah's 80 points are just two points less than the Ducks, and it would not be a surprise to see the two playoff neophytes engage in a seven-game series.
Utah has a five-point lead over the Nashville Predators, a team that is trying to hold off the Los Angeles Kings, Seattle Kraken, San Jose Sharks, and Winnipeg Jets for the final playoff spot.
The No. 8 seed will have to line up against the Colorado Avalanche in the first round. The Avs have 102 points and they have the best record in the NHL. Much of their success was built during their incredible first-half run and they are clearly one of the favorites to win the Stanley Cup. A first-round series against the Avs is infinitely more dangerous than an opening-round series against the Ducks.
As a result, the Mammoth are sitting in what Hall of Fame MLB announcer Red Barber used to call “the catbird's seat.” Since Utah has a decent edge on the Preds and their pursuers, the matchup with the Ducks is quite realistic at this point, and they have more than enough talent to come out on top in that series.
Keller, Schmaltz lead Utah scoring; Schmaltz gets rewarded
The Mammoth have a sharp 1-2 punch at the top of the team's scoring leaders with winger Clayton Keller and center Nick Schmaltz. Keller was a member of the gold-medal winning U.S. Olympic hockey team in Milan last month, and he leads the team with 22 goals and 46 points for 68 points.
Schmaltz has scored 26 goals and 37 assists for 63 points, and both are on head coach Andre Tourigny's top line. Keller and Schmaltz both play a 200-foot game and are responsible on defense as well as dynamic offensive players. They both have plus-23 ratings to this point in the season.
Schmaltz just signed an eight-year, $64 million contract extension with the Mammoth, and he is thrilled to be playing with a team that has found what appears to be a secure home in Salt Lake City.
“There was never a doubt that Utah is where I want to play the rest of my career, and I’m thrilled to sign an eight-year extension,” Schmaltz said in a team-released statement. “We have a great core of players, and I know we can do some special things together here in Utah. We have a very bright future, and I am thankful to (team owners) Ryan and Ashley Smith for wanting me to be a part of the group that will one day bring a Stanley Cup to Utah.”
Supporting cast has been effective
The Mammoth have a strong supporting cast in addition to Keller and Schmaltz. Forwards Dylan Guenther, J.J. Peterka, Lawson Crouse, and Logan Cooley have all shown they can pick up the offense, while defenseman Mikhail Sergachev is the key difference maker on the blue line with 10 goals and 36 assists and stout defensive play.
Goaltender Karel Vejmelka has gotten the job done to this point with a 32-18-3 record, a 2.67 goals-against average, and a .900 save percentage.
The Mammoth should have an excellent chance of getting through the first round of the playoffs against the Ducks, and then would have a chance to face the winner of the VGK and the Oilers. While the Mammoth can't match either team in terms of star power, they have demonstrated that they show maximum effort on a consistent basis. That just might be enough to get them to the Western Conference Finals.
