SALT LAKE CITY – Despite trailing the Pittsburgh Penguins by three to begin the third period on Sunday, the Utah Mammoth rallied with four unanswered goals in the final frame. While Pittsburgh was able to eventually force overtime, Dylan Guenther came through yet again as he delivered the OT winner and completed the improbable comeback.
Here are the key takeaways from Utah’s 5-4 OT win in Pittsburgh.
Despite the comeback, The Utah Mammoth dug a deep hole early with too many costly mistakes
Before we discuss their wildly impressive comeback, let’s first dive into exactly how and why the Mammoth found themselves in desperate need of an explosive third period.
To begin, it didn’t take long for Utah to trail in Pittsburgh as the Penguins scored just 48 seconds in to take an early 1-0 lead.
The worst part?
This goal and the two that followed were mostly self-inflicted wounds as Utah consistently let their guard down and Pittsburgh made them pay.
Hot start 🔥✔️ pic.twitter.com/8Lo2DyaT35
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 14, 2025
In regard to the first, following a poor clearance by Mikhail Sergachev from his own zone, the Penguins then pounced on the turnover, crashed the net and caught a lucky bounce off Nick Schmaltz that ended up across the goal line.
From there, it quickly got worse as the Mammoth yet again failed to properly break out of their own zone and were later caught sleeping near the Penguins blue line which resulted in a breakaway for Ben Kindel without a single Utah skater in sight.
Rusty has six points (3G-3A) over his last three games 🙌
AND… WE GET 1/2 OFF RUSTY’S SHAKE AT THE @MShakeFactory TOMORROW! pic.twitter.com/D4Zgobe4cN
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 14, 2025
Another mistake by Utah and the Penguins make them pay.
3-0 Pittsburgh through 2 periods.
20 to go.pic.twitter.com/mCmo1E12hS
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) December 14, 2025
Three major mistakes by Utah, three goals on 10 shots for the Penguins.
Now, to be fair, Utah still won this game.
However, those kinds of mistakes simply cannot happen, especially when the Mammoth were heavily outplaying Pittsburgh in nearly every other facet.
Luckily, this was just par for the course as the Penguins had forfeited a 5-1 lead less than 24 hours before against the San Jose Sharks.
Other teams won’t be so careless.
Sometimes, all it takes is a greasy one to kickstart an improbable comeback
Trailing by three going into the third period, the message for the Utah Mammoth was simple.
Keep going and score a quick greasy one to tilt the ice in their favor.
“[The message was] just keep going,” Andre Tourigny explained. “We said, hey, we need to get in there, we need to get the puck at the net because there’s loose change there when we get the puck through. But we need to find a way to get the puck through.”
Mission accomplished as Nate Schmidt did exactly that to get Utah on the board and effectively shifted the momentum in their favor.
Utah is on the board! pic.twitter.com/XnDaUwKReQ
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) December 14, 2025
Sometimes, all it takes to get back into a game is to stick to the plan, get bodies to the net and score an opportunistic greasy goal.
Why?
First off all, any goal by either team was going to impact the momentum.
Either Utah would inch their way back in or Pittsburgh could’ve put the nail in the coffin.
Second, getting on the board would undoubtedly force Pittsburgh to start second guessing themselves as they had just surrendered a four-goal lead late in the third to the Sharks and lost the night before.
Any goal by the Mammoth and those doubts would start creeping into the Penguin’s minds which is exactly what transpired.
One goal turned into two, then three and eventually a fourth as Utah’s confidence grew while Pittsburgh’s quickly diminished.
Carcs gets one 🔥
3-2, Pittsburgh. pic.twitter.com/UOpN7Vr8uP
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) December 14, 2025
Durz makes it 3-3!
Things are getting exciting here in Pittsburgh. pic.twitter.com/vb1fdKQJut
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) December 14, 2025
Michael Carcone for the lead! But picks up his first @NHL point with the assist!
🚨 4-3, Utah! pic.twitter.com/Ja2EFpEzgY
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) December 14, 2025
“You’ve got to get a quick one,” Dylan Guenther said. “Three goals is hard, especially in this league but we were able to get a quick one.”
“We knew they were a little bit fragile from how the game had ended yesterday, so, that gave us confidence.”
Credit to the Mammoth and their coaching staff.
They knew exactly what it would take and executed to near perfection in a game that seemed doomed right from the start.
Instead, they walk away with two critical points.
Scoring game-winners is just business as usual for Dylan Guenther
It seems there are only three guarantees in this life.
Death, taxes, and Dylan Guenther game-winners as No. 11 added yet another to his tally in Pittsburgh.
Gunner doing what he does best! OT Winner!!! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Q5YsH4DEZO
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) December 14, 2025
According to the Mammoth, Since the start of the 2024-25 season, Dylan Guenther ranks first in the NHL in game-winning goals (14), second in go-ahead goals (24) and tied for second in overtime goals (6) as he trails only Leon Draisaitl (EDM: 26/7) in each of the latter two categories.
That is flat out ridiculous but according to Tourigny, it’s just business as usual for the 22-year-old.
“He believes he will do it,” Tourigny explained.
“I always remember that video when he scored the golden goal for Canada. It was kind of, meh, they score, he’s at the glass. It’s just another day at the office. He was expecting to score…he’s been like that ever since then.”
To have a player of that confidence, skill, and execution is invaluable for a team, but especially right now for the Utah Mammoth.
With Cooley sidelined, somebody needed to step, give more and come through in big moments to help the team stay afloat.
So far, No. 11 has answered the call and will continue to do so well beyond this season.
“He’s not satisfied with his shot even though it is one of the elite ones,” Durzi explained.
“That competitiveness & fire to get better & care about his craft is what makes him so special. [He’s] so young. We’ve got a hell of a player.”
As hungry and as skilled as he is, Guenther will only continue to score clutch goals for the Mammoth and one day, he may just find the back of the net in a moment of desperation during a Stanley Cup Final.
For now, more regular season game-winners as Utah builds towards bigger moments.
What’s next for the Utah Mammoth?
The Utah Mammoth will continue their three-game road trip against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night at 5 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.
