SALT LAKE CITY – Despite an explosive second period with three goals in roughly five minutes, the Utah Mammoth came up short against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night as they lost the special teams battle and gave up two goals on the PK.
Here are the key takeaways from Utah’s 4-3 loss to Montreal.
Utah’s power play found a pulse after lighting the lamp against Montreal
Through the previous 23 games this season, Utah’s power play could arguably be classified as lifeless as they’d only scored nine goals on 65 opportunities (13.85 percent).
How does that compare to the rest of the league?
In addition to being the third worst power play in the entire NHL, according to hockeyreference.com, Utah was nearly seven percent below the league average (20.16 percent) coming into their matchup with the Canadiens.
Brutal.
However, against Montreal, the top unit finally found a pulse as they lit the lamp in the second period which then kickstarted an explosion of offense over the next five minutes.
Haytes nets one!
2-1, Montreal. pic.twitter.com/RPXWV7KGOX
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) November 27, 2025
So, how’d they finally score?
By getting back to the basics, moving the puck quickly and getting bodies in front of the net.
Simple as that.
“Us as a group were not happy with our production there,” Barrett Hayton explained. “We had a couple of games where we talked and kind of got back to the foundation and what made us good in the past—just having that attack mindset, winning battles that compete, and letting our skill take over from there.”
After nearly losing possession at the blue line, Utah made two quick passes which provided Barrett Hayton with a Grade A scoring chance in the low slot and he buried it.
That’s all it takes some nights.
Not necessarily an overabundance of finesse passing but getting pucks and bodies to the net front.
For Utah, this needs to serve as a turning point on the man advantage.
They’re clearly capable and seeing the puck go in should give them the confidence to do it again sooner rather than later.
Utah’s goaltending situation is still a problem
As I’ve prefaced several times before, I tend to avoid putting all of the blame on the goaltenders which still applies here.
Now, not that Karel Vejmelka was good, but Utah really struggled defensively during key stretches as they allowed Montreal to punish them off the rush.
That simply cannot happen, especially against the Canadiens who specifically thrive in those situations.
LE 400E POINT DANS LA LNH DE NICK
SUZY’S 400th NHL POINT#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/AXQnn8mitu
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) November 27, 2025
But all things considered, four goals on 17 shots (.765 percent) is completely unacceptable no matter how you look at it.
Sure, he was left hanging on arguably two of them, but at some point, an NHL goalie has to make an unexpected save.
So, where does Utah go from here?
At this point, the Mammoth really need to start looking at alternatives, potentially in the trade market as teams like Nashville and St. Louis begin to make guys like Jordan Binnington and Juuse Saros available.
With a .886 save percentage from Vejmelka and .873 from Vitek Vanecek this season, the goaltenders are simply not doing enough to help their team win hockey games.
There needs to be a solution.
Despite being an anchor all season, Utah’s penalty kill lost the special teams battle against Montreal
Amidst a rollercoaster season for the Utah Mammoth, one of the most consistent bright spots for this team has undoubtedly been the penalty kill.
Boasting an 84.1 percent PK (No. 7 in the NHL), the Mammoth have been an impenetrable fortress in their own zone nearly every time they’ve been outmanned.
With a sound structure, consistent clearances, active sticks and a willingness to block shots, Utah has made it nearly impossible for teams to find the back of the net.
Against the Habs however, Montreal was able to exploit a few Mammoth mistakes defensively as they moved the puck to weak side and beat Vejmelka twice.
Mon doux, ce tir
Holy moly, that’s our Boldy#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/4fdGOTg0Sj
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) November 27, 2025
Su3uki ajoute un point à sa collection
(Almost) midnight in Montreal, Suzy o’clock in Utah#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/UKaHKeK6DM
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) November 27, 2025
As demonstrated by all three power play goals to night, success on the man advantage is all about creating odd-man situations.
Whether that’s generating a collection of tic-tac-toe passes to an open shooter, capitalizing on a juicy rebound with the extra body or creating odd-man rushes, that’s how team’s exploit the PK.
So, while it’s unfortunate that Montreal cashed in twice which ended up being the difference in the game, the PK has still been excellent.
They just need to make sure this doesn’t become a consistent problem.
“We need to clean up our PK,” Head coach Andre Tourigny said. “I’m not blaming our PK; they’ve been the best part of our game. That unit has been our rock since the season started. So, I’m not blaming them; it’s just a matter of fact (tonight).”
“We’ll clean that up and we’ll be ready for our next game…I think we can be a little bit better.”
What’s next for the Utah Mammoth?
The Utah Mammoth will begin a six-game road trip against the Dallas Stars on Friday night at 6 p.m. MT.
The game will be available on Mammoth+.
All Mammoth games will also be broadcast live on the KSL Sports Zone (97.5 FM/1280 AM).
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.
