But Mammoth head coach Andr\u00e9 Tourigny was frustrated with the lack of discipline with his group in the 7-4 loss. Crouse got the extra penalty in fight with Wilson, which resulted in the Capitals\u2019 go-ahead goal, and the Mammoth never got the lead back.<\/p>\n
\u201c(I\u2019m) disappointed in how we controlled our emotions,\u201d Tourigny said. \u201cI\u2019m a big believer in team toughness and showing up for your teammates and stuff like that, but there\u2019s a way to do it, and the more important thing is that we got carried away emotionally.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s part of the game, but you need to stay composed and you need to keep playing.\u201d<\/p>\n
It all stemmed from a hit Tanev laid on Matt Roy \u2014 directly from behind. Wilson and Trevor Van Riemsdyk both dropped their gloves and attacked him immediately, causing the first wave of penalties. <\/p>\n
Shortly after Tanev stepped out of the box, Brandon Duhaime fought him, too.<\/p>\n
Later on, Wilson delivered one of the hardest hits you\u2019ll ever see on Jack McBain, which sparked Crouse\u2019s fight with Wilson once the latter got out of the penalty box.<\/p>\n
Fans might also remember the dustup McBain and Wilson had<\/a> at the Delta Center last season after McBain (albeit accidentally) broke Alex Ovechkin\u2019s fibula.<\/p>\n Although the home crowd didn\u2019t get the result it wanted, there was definitely nobody sleeping through Thursday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was definitely up there,\u201d said Capitals forward Hendrix Lapierre on how loud it was inside the building. \u201c… It just feels like every game\u2019s a Game 7, basically. It\u2019s really impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. 1,003<\/p>\n After Mammoth fans witnessed Connor McDavid hit multiple milestones<\/a> in Utah on Tuesday, they were relieved to know that Ovechkin had just scored his 1,000th goal<\/a> (regular season and playoffs combined). No reason for him to be extra motivated for this game.<\/p>\n On top of that, Utah started V\u00edtek Van\u011b\u010dek, who had never allowed an Ovechkin goal.<\/p>\n But none of that mattered when the puck dropped.<\/p>\n The \u201cGreat 8\u2033 scored twice in the second period, becoming one of three players in this game to go on hat trick watch. <\/p>\n But he was the only one who actually completed the hat trick, getting it done on the empty net with six seconds left in the game.<\/p>\n Ovechkin made history with that final goal, as he passed Brett Hull for fourth-most hat tricks in NHL history with 34.<\/p>\n Through two games at the Delta Center, he now has five goals.<\/p>\n \u201cI guess so,\u201d he smiled in response to the question of whether he likes playing in Utah. \u201cGood thing I didn\u2019t get hurt (this time).\u201d<\/p>\n Before the game, Tourigny remarked on how happy Ovechkin always is to score.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom the outside, what I like a lot about Ovi is he always looks like a little kid,\u201d Tourigny said. \u201cHe loves the game of hockey \u2014 he loves the game. He\u2019s excited about playing hockey. He\u2019s scored 1,000 goals now, and every time he scores, it\u2019s like his first in the NHL. He\u2019s excited, he\u2019s happy.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what hockey\u2019s all about. … We\u2019re so privileged to work in the game. We\u2019re so privileged to do hockey for a living, and he is, for me, the poster boy of that.\u201d<\/p>\n That being said, Tourigny didn\u2019t hope to see that joy from Ovechkin on this particular night.<\/p>\n Goalie problems?<\/p>\n In Utah\u2019s last two games, both Karel Vejmelka and V\u00edtek Van\u011b\u010dek have been pulled after allowing too many goals. The Mammoth need to find a solution in net.<\/p>\n Tourigny sees it as a whole team issue, rather than just the two guys in the goalie gear.<\/p>\n \u201cOffense is not (just) the forwards. Defense is not (just) the D, and same thing for the goalie,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a unit of six on the ice. … You need to play as a unit and connect. That\u2019s the challenge, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n That said, the Mammoth limited the Capitals to just 25 shots, so they had no reason to anticipate seven goals. The same goes for Tuesday\u2019s game against the Edmonton Oilers: five goals on 26 shots.<\/p>\n With just one win in their four-game home stand, the Mammoth\u2019s grasp on the coveted first wild card spot in the NHL\u2019s Western Conference is slipping. <\/p>\n They\u2019re fortunate the Nashville Predators also lost on Thursday, but they have some things to figure out before the upcoming three-game road trip, which begins in Los Angeles on Saturday.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/THRDYURPE5EUDBUFMGS3CKZFAQ.JPG\")
Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) celebrates after scoring during the second period of an NHL game against the Utah Mammoth at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, March 26, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rodney Dangerfield once gave a quote that perfectly characterizes Thursday\u2019s game between the Utah Mammoth and the Washington…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":525232,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5114],"tags":[191,5,3157,4,190,109,5222],"class_list":{"0":"post-525231","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-washington-capitals","8":"tag-capitals","9":"tag-hockey","10":"tag-news-feed-local","11":"tag-nhl","12":"tag-washington","13":"tag-washington-capitals","14":"tag-washingtoncapitals"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116299860916631562","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/525231","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=525231"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/525231\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/525232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=525231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=525231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=525231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}