SALT LAKE CITY – Despite forfeiting a two-goal lead with roughly five minutes left in the third period, the Utah Mammoth were still able to walk away with two points after quickly defeating the Winnipeg Jets in overtime.
After registering an apple earlier in the game, ‘Clayton Clutch’ came through yet again as he beat Connor Hellebuyck high to send Delta Center into a frenzy.
Here are the key takeaways from Utah’s 4-3 OT victory.
Clayton Keller is one of the most talented maestros in the NHL
Not a new development by any means, but one certainly worth repeating.
Utah Mammoth Captain Clayton Keller is one of the most talented maestros in the National Hockey League.
JJ makes it 2-0! Way to play, fellas! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/WNqRQZRJlW
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) December 22, 2025
Like I said, this is nothing new.
After finishing with 60 assists a season ago (No. 9 in the NHL), Keller proved to the rest of the league that he was one of the best at consistently finding his teammate’s tape in dangerous areas.
Against the Jets, Keller reaffirmed his playmaking ability with a gorgeous assist to JJ Peterka right in the crease to give Utah a 2-0 midway through the first period.
Beautiful feed from Kells gets JJ his 14th of the season! #TusksUp | @MtnLandSupply pic.twitter.com/fMehz2sHck
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) December 22, 2025
After retrieving the puck in the corner, Keller recognized that the Jets were puck watching and proceeded to fire a laser beam right to Peterka’s stick on the backdoor for an easy tap in.
The most impressive part?
Not only the read, but the pinpoint pass with pace to thread the needle, beat the defensemen and get the puck underneath the stick of Hellebuyck.
“Kells is a worldclass athlete,” Lawsone Crouse said. “He can shoot, he can score, he makes plays.”
“His competitiveness and wanting to be a big-time player. I think that opens up the ice for his eyes. Great pass, great finish.”
Simply put, few can make the kind of passes No. 9 can and a lot of the time, the delivery is just as pretty as the finish.
The Mammoth were too conservative late which let Winnipeg back into the game
Through roughly 55 minutes of the hockey game on Sunday night, the Utah Mammoth dominated the Winnipeg Jets.
In addition to leading on the scoreboard 3-1, Utah won the vast majority of their battles, were sound defensively, energetic in the offensive zone, dictated the pace and killed off two penalties without much trouble.
All was going as planned and it appeared that Utah would easily walk away with two points.
Not so fast.
Despite dominating for more than 90 percent of the game, Utah became too conservative in their approach in the third as they quit attacking and tried to defend the lead rather than build on it.
This resulted in the countless zone clearances and long shifts which provided Winnipeg with an opportunity to keep reloading while Utah was unable to change.
Eventually, the Jets simply wore the Mammoth down as they found the back of the net twice in just 15 seconds to tie the game and seized all momentum.
SHARP SHOOTER 🎯 pic.twitter.com/i4hyg0P4WH
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) December 22, 2025
BANG BANG TO TIE IT ‼️ pic.twitter.com/emiOSlGi5P
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) December 22, 2025
“We made it interesting on ourselves,” Lawson Crouse explained.
“Definitely not the way we wanted the third period to go…when you look at our third period, it started out by us just chipping pucks out…we thought we were doing the right thing but ultimately, we were giving them the puck pack.”
As Crouse continued, he talked about the need for a “big play to stop Winnipeg’s momentum.”
That’s what was lacking during this stretch.
In most two goal games in the NHL, it’s the next goal that often determines the outcome.
Either the team that’s leading puts it out of reach or the opposition trailing gets back into the game and tilts the ice in their direction.
Luckily, that big play eventually happened for the Mammoth in overtime.
However, Utah needs to make sure those types of plays happen sooner in order to avoid teams coming back in similar fashion in the future.
“I think our third (period) there is obviously not great,” Clayton Keller explained. “Something we have to learn from. We still have to make plays, even if we’re winning. Whatever the score is, they’re gonna make a push. That’s something that we’ve talked about and tried to get better at.”
“I think just learning from it. You’d rather mess up and try to do the right thing than just be safe and see what happens. I think that’s something that we have to learn from and do moving forward.”
Clayton Keller is ‘hitting his stride’ after scoring the OT winner over Winnipeg
While there’s no doubt that Keller can facilitate at an elite level, the captain demonstrated he can also score as he sent the Jets home with a filthy top shelf game-winner in overtime to secure two massive points for the Mammoth.
Where does the Keller OT winner tonight rank amongst the other OT winners at Delta Center?pic.twitter.com/NFeiqy6cux
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) December 22, 2025
Keller has been a noticeably different player over the last few games but in a good way.
Not only has he registered four points (2G, 2A), but he’s played with more intensity, passion and a visible determination to make sure his team keeps winning during a critical stretch of the season.
“I think Kells is hitting his stride slowly & maturely. Every game right now, he’s more dangerous,” Head coach Andre Tourigny said.
“He’s grittier and more determined. He’s a guy who wants to make a difference every shift…you see him angry in the game. I like him when he’s unhappy.”
Similar to the game in Detroit earlier this week, Keller was all over the ice against Winnipeg.
He was scrappy in the offensive zone, won most his battles, generated turnovers, directed traffic, made dangerous passes and of course, beat arguably the best goaltender in the world to win the game.
This is Clayton Keller Utah needs right now.
A vicious, confident, scrappy, relentless playmaker who can see every inch of ice and put the puck in the net on a consistent basis.
That’s what he did all of last season and that’s what Utah needs from him through the second half of this year, especially with Cooley sidelined until after the Olympics.
The good news?
Like Tourigny noted, it appears that Keller is starting to hit his stride which could be the difference in Utah staying in the playoff race.
He’s also smiling and joking in post-game interviews after a silly reporter (me) asked him how he took it upon himself to get two points right after he scored the OT winner.
I’d say the response was valid.
Keller on how he took it upon himself to make sure they got 2 points & what went through his mind on the goal:
“Score in overtime.” 😂
“Me and Gunner chatted before…he was like, let’s come with a lot of speed. That was in my head as I came onto the ice.” pic.twitter.com/SKhRruwrk4
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) December 22, 2025
What’s next for the Utah Mammoth?
The Utah Mammoth will now face the Colorado Avalanche on the road on Tuesday night at 7 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.
