SALT LAKE CITY – The best show on Broadway was at Madisan Square Garden on Monday night as the Utah Mammoth stole yet another victory from the New York Rangers in overtime.
Despite surrendering a collection of costly penalties in the second period, Utah battled through all 60 minutes till Sean Durzi called game in OT to honor his late grandfather and secure two massive points for the Mammoth.
Here are the key takeaways from Utah’s 3-2 OT thriller at MSG.
A penalty-ridden second period put the Utah Mammoth in a tight spot
Whether you agree with the calls against the Mammoth on Monday night or not, penalties were costly in the Big Apple.
After committing three infractions in the second period, the No. 11 power play in the NHL punished Utah twice as they exploited the extra space and effectively broke down Utah’s defensive shape.
“I didn’t like our penalty,” Head coach Andre Tourigny said. “Take it the way you want. Say whatever you want. I didn’t like anything about it.”
If you blinked near the 7:33 mark of the second period, you probably missed Dylan Guenther’s tripping penalty just like the rest of us.
As the Rangers attempted to enter Utah’s zone, Guenther tapped Adam Fox on the elbow.
Fox then dove to the ice and ironically, a tripping penalty was assessed for contact made up high.
Again, whether you agree with it or not, the official assessed a penalty, and Utah surrendered a goal as the Rangers picked apart the Mammoth’s diamond shape.
Mika finds Laf on the doorstep 🫡 pic.twitter.com/dV5Cv18X7X
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 6, 2026
Shortly after Guenther tied things up, Brandon Tanev then took a poorly timed tripping penalty (a completely fair call as Tanev swung his stick at the puck and took Artemi Panarin’s legs out) and Alexander Kerfoot was called for a slash on Carson Soucy.
Unsurprisingly, the Rangers then cashed in on the 5-on-3 as the Mammoth were unable to cover bodies in front of the net and Vincent Trocheck tipped one past Karel Vejmelka.
Bread with the shot + Troch tips it in pic.twitter.com/EbXiDRdK8x
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 6, 2026
The lesson for the Mammoth is to avoid even the appearance of a penalty.
Doesn’t matter how it looked or if the opposing player manipulated your stick under their arm to sell a hook.
The officials called it how they saw it and Utah was forced to live with the results.
Luckily, the PK came up big late in the third during a critical stretch, but a penalty-ridden middle frame put them at a major disadvantage.
Sean Durzi was a man on a mission as he secured the OT winner in Manhattan
The wide range of emotions a player can experience over the span of just a few minutes in the National Hockey League is pretty wild.
At the 16:46 mark of the third, Durzi was absolutely livid as Mika Zibanejad had trapped Durzi’s stick under his arm and sold a hooking penalty to the officials.
Understandably, No. 50 slammed his stick on the ice in frustration and argued the call all the way to his seat in the sin bin.
Alas, Durzi would still for two minutes.
But once the door opened and Utah’s veteran defenseman was unleashed from box, he was a man on a mission.
After putting his team in a bad spot, Durzi cruised right to the net front and nearly called game in regulation.
Moments later in overtime, No. 50 finally got his revenge on the questionable penalty as he slipped behind the defense and tapped home a gorgeous pass from Nick Schmaltz into the open net to keep Utah a perfect 6-0 in the state of New York.
There’s no questioning how much Sean Durzi cares about the Mammoth’s success.
Just look at that celly.
What a goal for No. 50.
Huge win for Utah.pic.twitter.com/LBvBRd2fmP
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) January 6, 2026
For Durzi, that one meant just a little bit more.
Not only was he ecstatic to get two points for his team, but according to Durzi, he honored his late grandfather with the OT winner over the Rangers.
“I lost my grandfather a few weeks ago,” Sean Durzi explained. “I said a little prayer in the penalty box hoping he had our back there and then to get that OT winner for him.”
“He was an important guy in my life.”
There’s no questioning how much Durzi cares.
He’s a big character guy and demonstrated his unwavering passion by finding a way to win a critical game.
Hopefully that passion will be infectious as the Mammoth attempt to string together some wins during a lengthy home stand.
A successful road trip has prepared Utah to defend home ice
That was a gutsy win for Utah.
Despite committing some costly penalties and trailing for a good portion of the contest, Utah found a way to get two points and finish the road trip 2-1 as opposed to 1-2.
That’s huge.
Not just for the sake of the trip but to reach .500 through 43 games, remain in the wild card race and prepare to defend home ice for 10 of the next 14 matchups.
“That trip is important because you can go back home 1-2 or 2-1,” Tourigny explained. “That is a huge difference. Now we’re playing 10 of 14 at home…”
“Now we have an opportunity to balance everything out and prove who we want to be. It was a big game.”
Tourigny is right.
Utah has weathered the most difficult part of the schedule and will now settle into a favorable stretch at home.
Beating the Rangers was a major step in the right direction.
They could either flop on the road trip with two losses or pick up four points with confidence as they approach the second half of the season.
“We have high expectations for us in the second half [of the season],” Tourigny said.
“We talk about how hard & demanding the schedule was before Christmas. We battled through & we weren’t who wanted to be, but we expect good things for us.”
Now is the time for Utah to prove it.
Live up to all of the preseason talk about making the playoffs.
Show that you’re capable of stringing together wins on a consistent basis by defending home ice.
This road trip was a great start.
Now it’s time to really get to work and win as many favorable games as possible before the Olympic break.
What’s next for the Utah Mammoth?
The Utah Mammoth will begin a seven-game home stand against the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday night at 7:30 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.
