SALT LAKE CITY – The offensive struggles continued for the Utah Mammoth on Saturday night as they dropped their fourth loss in five games to the Montreal Canadiens.
Making a collection of critical mistakes, the Habs punished the Mammoth repeatedly with an outpouring of goals in the third to seal their victory.
Here are the key takeaways from Utah’s 6-2 loss in Montreal.
Ian Cole is quietly having an impactful season for the Utah Mammoth
While players like Logan Cooley and Nick Schmaltz have stolen the spotlight early in the season, defenseman Ian Cole has quietly made a notable impact for the Utah Mammoth.
While the 36-year-old is not a flashy player by any means, he’s an absolute workhorse and a reliable veteran presence on the blue line.
Understandably, Cole is not going to put up a bunch of points or score many goals but what he will do is play sound defensively, impose himself physically, jump in front of pucks and make veteran plays.
Against the Canadiens, the seasoned D-man yet again made his presence known as he registered an assist, three shots, two blocks and three hits.
🚨 Yams makes it 1-0 early! pic.twitter.com/tZd6dFfnOO
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) November 9, 2025
Through 15 games this season, Cole has one goal, six assists (2nd amongst Mammoth D-men), 33 blocks (team-high), & 21 hits (most amongst Mammoth D-men).
He’s also +7 on the ice (second best on the team) & has limited his trips to the box (10 minutes) compared to last season.
That’s what you want from your veteran players.
Impactful minutes, unselfish plays and a willingness to help establish the right type of culture.
So, while it may not be as obvious, Cole has undoubtedly earned his keep in Utah as one of their most reliable vets.
Montreal made the most of their chances while the Mammoth did not
Despite outshooting the Montreal Canadiens 27-23 through 60 minutes, the Utah Mammoth simply failed to capitalize on their chances while the Habs did not.
Aside from a fairly strong initial frame, the energy dipped heavily through the remaining two periods and Utah quickly fell behind.
“I don’t think the result is a reflection of what happened on the ice,” Head coach Andre Tourigny said. “They’re a good team, they execute, and they were really opportunistic.”
As Tourigny noted, Montreal not only executed on their chances but mercilessly punished Utah for every sizable mistake they made.
Cole Caufield surprised Karel Vejmelka with a snipe from down low, Alex Newhook punished Olli Maatta for a bad pinch and then took advantage of JJ Peterka as the last man back, Nick Suzuki scored on a 2-on-0 following a bad change by the defense and Kirby Dach lit the lamp on a breakaway.
“The fourth goal there, unlucky bounce, that kind of felt like a backbreaker for us. From there on out it snowballed,” Lawson Crouse explained.
“It got away from us too quickly and I think that’s the message for our group. It can go quick in this league.”
Samedi soir, j′ai les cornes qui poussent 😈
Saturday Night Cole#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/DcjmZJmXs5
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) November 9, 2025
On se tait et vous laisse apprécier cette séquence
Some goals simply don’t need captions, and this is one of them#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/guDk5inYpk
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) November 9, 2025
Le but d’assurance du but d’assurance
Insurance, insurance#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/RpTtXVmuo1
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) November 9, 2025
“Another one” – DJ Kirby#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/RBUgyAdyfU
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) November 9, 2025
As Crouse pointed out, the Canadiens simply wore Utah down and things got out of control really fast.
But to be honest, that feels like a hard lesson to still be learning in year five of a rebuild, especially considering the number of veterans Utah has added over the last two summers.
Sure, there’s still a lot of young faces on Utah’s roster, but to be humbled by the youngest team in the NHL (25.8 years) is a fairly rude awakening, regardless of the Habs abundance of youthful talent.
Obviously, there were plenty of chances, but Utah’s recent scoring struggles continued as the top six and power play remained stagnant without any points.
Change isn’t always the answer as Utah’s top six & power play adjustments didn’t make a difference
Speaking of the top six and power play units, the changes made to those groups looked like a failed experiment and there should be legitimate consideration to either switch them back and ride out the storm or continue to seek other possible solutions.
Of course, one game is a small sample size, but nothing those lines or units did really demonstrated any promise of significant improvement.
“We need to capitalize on our power play,” Tourigny explained. “That is an area where need to improve. We had good looks, but we need that killer instinct.”
“Same thing at five on five…we generate really good chances but could not separate ourselves.”
Aside from one Grade A scoring chance that went off the post, Cooley, Schmaltz and Keller struggled to generate any consistent offensive zone possession while the second line of Hayton, Guenther and Peterka was simply a dud.
As for the power play, the addition of Kevin Stenlund to the top unit didn’t alter much at all.
Yeah, he won a faceoff and took a shot but at what cost?
Dropping your most clutch goal scorer and one of the best shooters in the league to the second unit?
The biggest issue on the power play right now based on the eye test seems to be an inability to effectively enter the zone on a consistent basis and little to no net front presence.
With Nick Schmaltz significantly cooling off in terms of production, those greasy goals and screens have quickly disappeared.
Perhaps that’s the change to consider?
Drop Schmaltz to the second unit for Stenlund or another big body and crowd the crease.
While the power play been an issue all season (16.6%, 8-48) and needs to continuously be analyzed until they find success, abandoning two of the best lines through October felt just a bit premature, especially for the kid line.
How The Utah Mammoth’s Top Line Has Become One Of The Best In The NHL
On October 28, the first line was top 10 in goals for (7), goals against (3), goals per 60 minutes (5.13), goals against per 60 minutes (2.2), expected goals for (4.2), expected goals against (2) and a handful of other advanced statistics.
Same with the kid line, one of the best in the NHL through October with 34 points in 11 games.
Sustainable? No.
But worth abandoning after a short drought?
Questionable.
Obviously, they’re some problems that need to be addressed.
But maybe it’s just more of the team facing a tougher schedule with eight of nine games on the road, including two back-to-backs against the likes of the Edmonton Oilers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens.
Again, no doubt something needs to change, but abandoning two of the best lines from October a week later might not be the solution.
What’s next for the Utah Mammoth?
The Utah Mammoth will conclude their four-game road trip against the Ottawa Senators on Sunday night at 5 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.
