SALT LAKE CITY – On the second of a back-to-back, the Utah Mammoth lost their third-straight game to the St. Louis Blues as forward Logan Cooley left early after suffering a lower-body injury in the third period.
Here are the key takeaways from Utah’s 1-0 loss in St. Louis.
The Utah Mammoth need to be more active and unpredictable on the power play
Through 26 games this season, the Utah Mammoth currently own the third worst power play in the NHL at just 13.6 percent (10/73).
Why is that?
Well, that’s a tough question and if there was an obvious answer the team probably wouldn’t be struggling as much as they are.
But after recently facing the best power play in the NHL (Dallas Stars, 31.8 percent), there were some noticeable strategies and techniques that the Mammoth would benefit to replicate.
Now, to be clear, this is strictly based on the eye test, not analytical data.
However, any team would be remiss to not study the best unit in the league as they’re obviously doing it better than anyone else.
So, let’s take a quick look.
When it comes to the power play, goals are generally scored by exploiting the man advantage and creating odd-man situations.
How does that happen?
By moving the puck, circulating bodies, generating traffic and forcing the goaltender to move.
Against the Mammoth, Dallas executed the power play to near perfection as they generated all of the above.
4 games straight with a Roope tally 💪 pic.twitter.com/VGQcKYOhud
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) November 29, 2025
Tic-tac-toe, Johnny makes it go 🤠 pic.twitter.com/QdH2swjtsi
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) November 29, 2025
On their first goal, Dallas circulated bodies, pulled Utah out of position and then fed a trailing Mikko Rantanen at the point who blasted one past Vitek Vanecek.
As for the second, the Stars baited Utah with a series of shots, got Mikhail Sergachev to bite and then found a wide-open Wyatt Johnson on the backdoor for an easy tap-in.
Those particular attack strategies are simply not happening for Utah right now.
As demonstrated by their performance against St. Louis as they went 0/2 and only managed four shot attempts through seven power play minutes (one minor, one five-minute major), Utah was stagnant on the man advantage with very little movement, too many passes, not enough shots and too much predictability.
While they have been able to consistently move the puck throughout the zone, players are mostly staying in the same spots which allows the defense to easily clog shooting lanes.
That’s exactly how St. Louis killed five straight minutes on the PK.
Closed out November on a high note 🎶#stlblues | @BJC_HealthCare pic.twitter.com/4wEl47h4fK
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) November 30, 2025
How do they potentially fix it?
Try implementing more of what Dallas does.
Rotate positions, get bodies in front of the net and shoot the puck.
If not, special teams will not improve as Utah isn’t doing enough to consistently generate high danger chances.
Logan Cooley was helped off the ice after suffering a knee-on-knee contact injury in St. Louis
Towards the midway point of the third period, Utah’s situation went from bad to worse against the Blues as young-star Logan Cooley suffered a knee-on-knee injury that forced him to leave the game early.
The injury to Cooley after taking a knee on knee check. https://t.co/3WhEPSvAeL
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) November 30, 2025
As one of the fastest skaters in the league, Cooley was likely traveling close to 20 MPH through the neutral zone before colliding with Alexey Toropchenko near the St. Louis blue line.
Immediately after the hit, No. 92 dropped to the ice in pain and stayed there for several minutes before eventually being helped by his teammates to the locker room.
Notably, as he did so, Cooley refused to put any weight on his left leg as he was visibly in pain.
Following the game, Head Coach Andre Tourigny was unable to provide any update on the injury.
Clayton Keller has demonstrated unimaginable strength following the tragic passing of his father
The past 48 hours have been deeply emotional for Clayton Keller and the Utah Mammoth.
After unexpectedly losing his father on Thursday, Keller has pushed through unimaginable adversity as he’s remained with the team, played two games and even addressed the media after Utah’s third straight-loss to St. Louis in a shutout.
Powerful interview from the Captain.
Unimaginable strength to do what he’s done. https://t.co/0POyAJlNFg
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) November 30, 2025
There are few words to describe the resilience that Utah’s captain has demonstrated over the last two days.
Not only on the ice, but off the ice as a human being.
To lose a loved one, especially a father who introduced him to the game and supported Keller at every turn in his career is painfully heartbreaking to say the least.
The St. Louis hockey community is like family. We extend our deepest condolences to STL’s Clayton Keller, and his family and friends, on the passing of his father, Bryan. 💙 pic.twitter.com/dCX3YMjeu1
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) November 30, 2025
But Keller has persevered with incredible strength as he’s laced up his skates, taken the ice and continues to lead the Mammoth through a tough stretch of separate adversity.
“First off, teammates, coaching staff, management, have been unbelievable towards me, my family. Big thanks to the Blues for everything they did tonight. They didn’t have to do that. Lots of memories at this rink. Growing up, coming to games here, sitting on my dad’s lap, my grandpa’s lap. Just admiring those players and wanting to be out there,” Keller explained with emotion.
“It was definitely a tough couple of days, but I couldn’t have done it without my family, my teammates. They had my back always. I care for them more than anything.”
So, while the team is in a tough spot after losing several in a row again, it’s important to have perspective.
What the captain is going through is likely the toughest thing he’s ever done.
But he still shows up.
He puts on that jersey and wears the ‘C’ proudly.
He’s there for his teammates and even helped carry Cooley to the bench after his injury.
That’s what a leader does, and Utah should be proud to have such a strong individual as their captain.
What’s next for the Utah Mammoth?
The Utah Mammoth will continue their six-game road trip against the San Jose Sharks on Monday night at 8 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.
