SALT LAKE CITY – Despite finding their groove against the Minnesota Wild on Friday night, the Utah Mammoth were their own worst enemy on Sunday as a collection of early penalties plagued them in a shutout loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.
Here are the key takeaways from Utah’s 4-0 loss to Chicago.
An abundance of early penalties set the Mammoth back against Chicago
Any time a team commits four penalties in a period, especially the first, it is going to be a challenge to win the hockey game.
Such was the case for the Utah Mammoth on Sunday as they sat in the box for eight minutes during the initial frame, presenting the Blackhawks with an abundance of power play opportunities while delaying their ability to create offense.
Not that penalties are ever ideal, but the four Utah committed in the first period were just silly.
Ian Cole was penalized for kneeing while Clayton Keller sat for embellishment, and then Lawson Crouse and Nate Schmidt committed some unnecessary trips.
While they successfully killed the first three, Chicago eventually cashed in on the fourth as Teuvo Teravainen cleaned up a loose puck in close and then beat Karel Vejmelka up high.
a sneaky move from Teuvo👀 pic.twitter.com/lgIZnaaHOo
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 1, 2026
Those are penalties the Mammoth have to avoid.
Doesn’t matter if it’s the best power play in the league or the worst, if a team sits in the box that many times in short order, they are begging to be scored on.
“Obviously, you can’t when you’re disconnected, you’re chasing the game, and when you’re chasing the game, you’re taking penalties. Then just one goes over the other, and you’re losing the game that way. And we’ll let it slip,” Mikhail Sergachev said.
When a team is forced to constantly defend in their own end while down a man, generating offense is low priority as they must consistently ice the puck to kill time.
Moving further down the stretch, that many penalties in one period simply cannot happen again as it set the tone for the rest of the game and buried Utah’s chances to win.
Utah burned an unnecessary mulligan against the Chicago Blackhawks
With 22 games remaining on their schedule, every single point is precious for the Utah Mammoth.
Despite leading the Western Conference wild card race with 66 points, Utah cannot afford to drop many more games as three other teams (Nashville, Los Angeles, & San Jose) are on their heels, all within three to five points.
Unfortunately, after losing to an inferior opponent and one of the easier matchups remaining on their schedule, Utah is beginning to run out of mulligans.
“At the end of the day, we are serious about our business and who is on the other side,” Head Coach Andre Tourigny said.
“We need two points every night, and we are in a hell of a race. We need to take that game and learn from it, and that has to hurt big time. We (need to) make sure that doesn’t happen again. If that’s the purpose of that game, it is what it is. But, there is no reason for us to play like that.”
If the 95-point benchmark holds firm as the qualifying number for the playoffs, Utah needs approximately 14 more wins and an overtime loss to get it done.
Doable?
Absolutely.
But losing 4-0 on home ice to Chicago at this point in the season is unacceptable which the players and coaches recognized.
“I am obviously extremely disappointed about all of us: coaches and players,” Tourigny added.
“I think we have to be much better. There is no reason that (game) should ever happen. That kind of effort in front of fans… I am really disappointed in us, and it is on all of us, starting with me. That cannot happen again.”
Not that any game is ever really a gimme, but the Blackhawks season is essentially over.
Playing them three times down the stretch is almost a gift but not when points are squandered in a shutout loss at home.
With an opportunity to face them twice more in the next 11 days, Utah has to make sure take care of business by picking up four points.
A preview of Utah’s five-game road trip
Following their disappointing three-game home stand, the Mammoth will now depart for the longest remaining road trip of the regular season.
After two stops in DC and Philly ahead of Friday’s trade deadline, Utah will then travel to Columbus before wrapping things up on a back-to-back in Chicago and Minnesota.
What should the expectation be?
Like any road trip, picking up roughly half of the available points is generally the minimum expectation.
Considering the competition, Utah is more than capable of three wins.
Chicago and Philadelphia are the more likely victories and if they can steal one of the other three game to pick up six points, that will keep them trending in the right direction.
“It’s a tough, tough performance, and our fans deserve better, a lot better than that. But, you know, it just happens to everyone,” Sergachev explained.
“We’ve been playing really good hockey lately, and we just got to get back to that, and through hard work. And we’re gonna do it.”
What’s next for the Utah Mammoth?
The Utah Mammoth will begin a five-game road trip against the Washington Capitals 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.
