After a stirring victory on Monday, and with a three-week break on the horizon, the Detroit Red Wings were looking to start their Olympic break on a hot streak.
The Utah Mammoth thought differently and made it stand up with a 4-1 victory at the Delta Center.
The loss dropped Detroit into a third-place tie with the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference after Montreal beat Winnipeg 5-1.
The Red Wings were coming off a 2-0 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Monday, Colorado’s first shutout loss of the season.
Any hopes for a repeat were snuffed out early when Utah’s Sean Durzi scored 57 seconds into the opening period. Nick Schmaltz made it 2-0 midway through the first period with a 5-on-3 power-play goal, notable in that the Mammoth are 30th in power-play scoring this season.
Dylan Guenther effectively put the game out of reach at the 4:41 mark of the third period with his team-leading 25th goal.
Dylan Larkin scored Detroit’s only goal when John Gibson was pulled for an extra attacker late in the third period.
Clayton Keller finished the scoring, netting an empty-net goal with 2:18 remaining.
Red Wings Takeaways
Larkin’s goal gave him 50 points on the season for the fifth year in a row . . . Detroit’s Erik Gustafsson and Utah’s Olli Maatta were healthy scratches . . . Utah swept the season series, winning both games by 4-1 scores. Detroit outshot Utah 40-25 . . . The Red Wings are off until the season resumes on Feb. 26 at Ottawa.
Key Stat
The Mammoth are 25-5-2 when Nick Schmaltz has recorded a point this season.
Key Moment
Utah seized the momentum in front of their home crowd on Durzi’s goal less than a minute into the contest.