At least the road trip is over. That is probably the best takeaway from the Utah Mammoth’s game on Sunday night against the Ottawa Senators. A win was needed heading into the final game of the road trip to make it somewhat salvageable. Instead, it was another frustrating game from the Mammoth.
While it was nice to see some players get back on the scoreboard after some recent lapses in their play, it couldn’t stop the team from having another mediocre third period, which resulted in their third straight loss. Here are some takeaways from Sunday’s 4-2 loss.
Have the Top Players Awoken?
In the past seven games, Clayton Keller has one goal and one assist. In the past four games, Nick Schmaltz has one point. It’s not something you want to see from your top players. Of course, it was just a matter of time before the scoring touch came back. It was in Sunday’s game where the two finally got on the scoresheet again.
It started in the first period with Mikhail Sergachev sliding the puck from center ice to Keller on the boards. Keller charged to the net and shot the puck. While the first attempt didn’t go in, the forward managed to put the puck into the net on his second shot to tie the game up at one towards the end of the first period.
The second goal came late in the second period off another long stretch pass by a defenseman. Nick DeSimone found Logan Cooley’s stick that made its way to Schmaltz. Like Keller, Schmaltz charged to the front of the net and put the puck in on his backhand. That goal made it 3-2 Senators, with the momentum in favor of the Mammoth.
Schmaltzy with a strong drive to the net gets Utah within one.
3-2, Ottawa. pic.twitter.com/Kqg0FlwUv7
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) November 10, 2025
Cooley’s assist on that goal was his first point in five games. Meanwhile, DeSimone’s assist in his first game was his first point of the season.
Against a solid Senators team, offense wasn’t going to be easy to come by for the Mammoth. Fortunately, two of their top players were able to get through their defense and keep the game close.
“I like the way they (Keller and Schmaltz) generate,” head coach André Tourigny said. “They attack the net. They attack the net with speed; they cut at the net. Ottawa is one of the best teams in terms of everything defensively, with the way they protect their slot and stuff like that. We did a really good job getting there and having great looks there. That’s a positive part of our game.”
Unfortunately, while Keller and Schmaltz were able to put goals and points on the board, others weren’t so lucky. As mentioned, Cooley’s assist on the Schmaltz goal was his first point in five games. Neither JJ Peterka nor Barrett Hayton has scored since the Mammoth’s game against the Edmonton Oilers.
You can’t rely on one player to carry your team unless that player is someone like Connor McDavid. All four lines have to be producing at a consistent rate. That hasn’t happened this season. When the top lines are going, the depth gets overshadowed. For the past couple of games, the depth has been scoring, but the top lines have gone silent.
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“You’re in need of all four lines throughout the season,” Schmaltz said. “It’s not just relying on the first or fourth or whatever line it may be. Good teams get contributions from everyone. Everyone seems to step up on a different night. That’s when you know you’re a good team. It doesn’t really mean anything when we don’t win.”
It’s ok if the top players don’t score every game. However, some of the highest-paid forwards on the team haven’t been doing much on the scoresheet for an extended period of games now, and that’s a problem. It’s reflective everywhere, including on the power play.
While the Mammoth only had one opportunity on the man advantage, they failed to generate anything. It was yet another game where the team’s talent didn’t show up, even on the power play. It needs to change, especially because the Mammoth will get worked over when they play tougher teams down the line.
“We’ve got to generate more off power play,” Schmaltz said. “That feeds everything. When you’re scoring the power play, guys get more confidence. Special teams wins a lot of games in this league…It’s a privilege to be on the power play. We can’t take it for granted. We got to work, and we got to make plays when it counts.”
Offense from the top six has been really difficult to come by, and it’s one of the reasons why the Mammoth are losing. On the opposite side of things, the bottom lines have been producing and playing well. They have become the reason why the Mammoth have kept games close. On Sunday, that almost happened again.
Jack McBain’s Questionable Disallowed Goal
Jack McBain only has two goals in 16 games this season, but he’s been a hard worker, centering the third line that has been the best line for the Mammoth on this road trip. On Sunday, he almost got a well-deserved second goal in the season.
John Marino came behind the Senators’ net and quickly passed the puck to the front of the net, where McBain was sitting after falling. The puck landed on his stick, and he put it into the empty net on his backhand to tie the game up at three.
Take a seat Jack McBain 😂
Bainer scores from sitting down to tie it up! pic.twitter.com/cFP374Gz0l
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) November 10, 2025
The Senators took a timeout to look over the goal and then challenged it for goaltender interference. After review, the league decided that it wasn’t a good goal and stripped McBain of it.
Looking at the play, Leevi Meriläinen was moved a little out of position by McBain. However, Meriläinen, thinking Marino still had the puck, moved to the right side, which allowed McBain to have a wide-open net. The goaltender clearly had time to respond to the shot and even anticipated the puck to come from somewhere else. That’s not goaltending interference.
Jack McBain, Utah Hockey Club (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)
The called-off goal ended up having a lot of repercussions. Seconds later, Dmitri Simashev collapsed awkwardly on his leg. While he took some shifts later, it is something to keep an eye on. It looked like a horrible fall, and his first reaction as he limped off the ice told the whole story.
Shortly after that, Michael Amadio tipped in a Thomas Chabot shot for the dagger. At first glance, the McBain goal seemed like the Mammoth had all the momentum. However, as soon as it was called off, it was all Senators.
“It had a lot of impact,” Tourigny said. “It’s adversity, and we need to keep our composure and keep pushing through. There’s always something that happened…We need to just find a way to be mentally strong.”
A Terrible Trip Filled with Issues
With the Amadio goal, it was game over. Mammoth fans knew it too, especially when they pulled Vítek Vaněček for the extra attacker. In their 98 games in franchise history, the Mammoth have done a lot. They have yet to score a goal with their goaltender pulled. They were close on Sunday, but Meriläinen made a massive save to prevent that drought from ending.
Speaking of Vaněček, it’s hard to blame goaltenders. You can’t solely pin every single loss on a goaltender. They can’t stop everything. However, this road trip has been rough for Vaněček. In his first three starts, he only surrendered two goals in each appearance. In his past two starts, he’s let in four each.
Vaněček needs to be better than letting in eight goals on the road trip. That’s just not sustainable.
Lack of scoring from the top six, no offense from the power play, and not scoring a goal with the net empty. All those common traits from the Mammoth were in full effect on Sunday. However, there’s one more iconic Mammoth issue that was on display against the Senators, and that was a horrible third period.
Yes, the McBain goal being waived off was a big bummer, and it did put all the momentum in favor of the Senators. However, as Tourigny said, the Mammoth need to battle back from that. They didn’t, and it resulted in a not-so-great third period with the Senators outshooting them 11-8 and Amadio scoring his goal.
“It’s frustrating,” Schmaltz said. “Feels like we’re in a good spot in a lot of these games, and just not finding the way to get the crucial goal. I thought we had a goal. Bainer (McBain) went out there and got one for us, and it got called back. That’s just the way it goes sometimes. It’s a tough league. There are a lot of good teams out there, and we have to find a way to get back on track and get on a run here.”
The Mammoth end the road trip with a record of 1-3-0. It’s not good enough for a team trying to make the playoffs, especially this early. Yes, we’re only 16 games into the season, but these losses could really come back to haunt the Mammoth. That’s what happened to them last season.
The good news is the Mammoth are at home again for the next two games. They’ve only lost one game at home so far this season. Perhaps playing at the Delta Center will help stop the team from repeating the same mistakes over and over. If not, the Mammoth could be in trouble.
The Mammoth will play the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday. The Sabres are 5-6-4 and are coming off a 6-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. These two teams played each other most recently a couple of days ago, where the Mammoth won in overtime by a score of 2-1. The game on Wednesday will mark Josh Doan and Michael Kesselring’s first appearances at the Delta Center since being traded to Buffalo.
