DENVER – Amidst a nail-biting contest with the Colorado Avalanche to begin the 2025-26 season, the Utah Mammoth were provided a great initial test of resilience and maturity against one of the top teams in the NHL.
Despite coming up just short due to a stroke of brilliance from none other than Nathan MacKinnon, the Mammoth pushed Colorado right to the bitter end as they demonstrated grit and refused to give up.
Here are the key takeaways from Utah’s 2-1 loss in Denver.
Dmitri Simashev played a solid, simple game in his NHL debut
Making his NHL debut against the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night, 20-year-old defenseman Dmitri Simashev delivered on his morning skate promise as he played a simple, yet solid first game.
“You can be the greatest player of all time, you can win the Stanley Cup…but you only have one first game in the NHL,” Simashev explained.
“I just want to play my game. Just be myself.”
Dimitri Simashev is focused on just playing his game as he makes his debut…and not letting MacKinnon score during his shifts.
“You can be the greatest player of all time, you can win the Stanley Cup…but you only have one first game in the NHL.”
“Just be myself.” pic.twitter.com/MHsBOS8YxV
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) October 9, 2025
It wasn’t flashy nor were there any moments that truly grasped your attention.
But he was good.
He registered a block, delivered a hit, closed down on several forwards, got involved on the rush a few times, took two shots and overall, played a really solid game.
“It was not bad, actually. I was nervous, not a lot like how I expected. It’s one shift and you start to play your game,” Simashev said with a big grin on his face following his first NHL game.
“It’s unbelievable. I will remember this all my life. My first game in the NHL.”
Dmitri Simashev on playing his first NHL game: “It was not bad, actually. I was nervous, not a lot like how I expected. It’s one shift and you start to play your game.”
“It’s unbelievable. I will remember this all my life. My first game in the NHL.” pic.twitter.com/emb55zloEo
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) October 10, 2025
Far too often, rookies and prospects try to do too much when they get their big chance.
This can often lead to mistakes as they’re simply too eager to make a difference.
For Simashev, he went the safer route as he stuck to his game and did what he does best.
He skated strong, clogged lanes, won battles and shut down the Avs in his own zone.
In the future, he’ll obviously want to improve and make more of an impact.
But for now, the game he played was great and will undoubtedly keep him in a Mammoth sweater.
It takes near perfection to beat the Avalanche and Utah wasn’t quite up for the challenge
With a star-studded lineup that includes some of the best players in the world, it requires near perfection to beat the Colorado Avalanche.
Not only can they beat you with speed, but they can easily break you down in the offensive zone as they swiftly circulate the puck in search of an opening.
Generally, no matter who’s twig the puck lands on, they’re going to be a lethal threat.
Whether its MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Gabriel Landeskog, Brock Nelson, Martin Necas or really anyone else in the lineup for that matter, it’s dangerous.
Additionally, Colorado is also one of the best teams in the league defensively as they wear teams down with their physicality and even more speed on the backend.
So, While Utah put up a formidable fight, they simply made one mistake too many as MacKinnon was left wide open with a clear lane toward the net, and he left no doubt as he connected on a top-shelf snipe for the game winner.
Sheeeeeeeeesh
A top-shelf beauty. pic.twitter.com/tZbwrMhx0Z
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) October 10, 2025
“[Playing against MacKinnon] was tough,” Simashev said with a convincing look on his face. “It was so tough. He’s so fast. He’s one of the best players in the world, maybe the best player in the world. It’s amazing.”
Like Simashev pointed out, it’s remarkably tough to stop the Avalanche’s stars.
They’re merciless in the offensive zone and every shift leaves you catching your breath as they consistently threaten to score.
But for Utah, it was still a solid effort.
They led the game in shots 33-27, blocked 21 shots, went 1/3 on the power play and pushed Colorado to their limits.
However, that one mistake gave MacKinnon all he needed to seal the game and that was the difference.
“In the second we did a good job answering…I thought we played more our style of hockey,” Lawson Crouse said.
“It was a battle right to the end. A power play goal that gave them the lead…we had our chances, and we gave ourselves a chance to win the hockey game and that’s what’s important.”
A chance to win, yes, but they just couldn’t quite get the job done.
Games against teams like Colorado are a great test of maturity
While a 2-1 loss is certainly not ideal, playing a team like Colorado to open the season is not only a great opportunity to measure up against a true Cup contender, but it provided Utah with a chance to test their maturity right off the bat.
As previously outlined, the Avalanche are clearly one of the best teams in the NHL that very well could compete for the Stanley Cup in 2026.
For a team like Utah that’s looking to enter the next stage of their rebuild and prove their maturity, this was a great test.
“That’s a great test, game one.” Crouse said.
“Obviously, they have a lot of talent on that side when it comes to their power play. (but) it just seemed like everyone was locked in, dialed in.”
After a fairly quiet first period where they struggled to get shots on goal, Utah erupted in the second as they not only scored, but they actually outshot the Avalanche 11-4.
History repeats itself!
Dylan Guenther scores our first goal of the season 🔥 pic.twitter.com/fItJGPHTZU
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) October 10, 2025
Into the third, and to Crouse’s credit, Utah really was right there and would’ve tied things up in the final seconds if Scott Wedgewood hadn’t made the save of the game with his blocker.
Unreal save off the blocker.
Not many goaltenders are gonna stop 11 on a one-timer from that spot. https://t.co/1meQkLX2hj
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) October 10, 2025
Those are types of games you want to be in.
The ones that push both teams and require a stroke of brilliance for one side to finally come out on top.
So, while the loss stings to open a new season, there was still a lot to like about Utah’s game as they pushed a squad full of All-Stars to their limit.
“That’s a great team on the other side,” Crouse said. “I thought we battled right to end and like I said, we gave ourselves a chance to win against one of the better teams in the league.”
“Some things to clean up but a lot of positives to take away from that.”
Hopefully, this result is a step in the right direction and a sign of things to come as they expect to make the playoffs this season.
If so, they’ll keep challenging the top teams in the league and will certainly win a few of those games which could end up making a big difference down the stretch.
What’s next for the Utah Mammoth?
The Utah Mammoth will continue their opening road trip against the Nashville Predators on Saturday night at 6 p.m. MT.
The game will be available on Mammoth+.
Cole Bagley is the Utah Mammoth insider for KSL Sports. Keep up with him on X here. You can hear Cole break down the team on KSL Sports Zone and KSL 5 TV.
Take us with you, wherever you go.