MORNING SKATE NOTES<\/p>\n
The Mammoth held an optional morning skate on Thursday.
\nHead coach Andr\u00e9 Tourigny shared Utah\u2019s lineup will remain the same.<\/p>\n
The Mammoth are seven points ahead of the Kraken in the Western Conference wild card race.<\/p>\n
Optional Skate<\/p>\n
After several days of practices and meetings, the Mammoth held an optional morning skate ahead of their game against the Kraken.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s which skaters participated: Clayton Keller, Logan Cooley, Lawson Crouse, Jack McBain, Michael Carcone, Liam O\u2019Brien, Kailer Yamamoto, Nick Schmaltz, Nick DeSimone, Sean Durzi, MacKenzie Weegar, and Mikhail Sergachev.<\/p>\n
Playoff Race Heating Up<\/p>\n
It is a tight playoff race in the Western Conference and currently Utah holds the first wild card spot. However, five teams, including Seattle, are pushing to get into one of those two wild card spots. Thursday\u2019s game is expected to be a tight matchup where both teams are pushing for points.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal from the start was to make the playoffs,\u201d Cooley said. \u201cWe\u2019re all hungry to get there, and every game from now on is so important. Every point is so big. And standings are close, and I think for us, it\u2019s about maintaining where we are, doing things that made us successful, especially against LA, a team like that, where we needed to win that game. We came out and played like that and it\u2019s great to see it, it gives us confidence and I expect the same out of tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thursday\u2019s game is the Mammoth\u2019s first game this week and they used the last few days without games to prepare for this final stretch of the regular season. Now it\u2019s time for Utah to execute.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there\u2019s a feeling of urgency in our room,\u201d Tourigny explained. \u201cThe guys are tuned in. I really like their body language, their approach all week, everything they did on and off the ice to prep. I think we\u2019re in (a) good space in our heads. Now, it\u2019s just time to execute.\u201d<\/p>\n
Following the Blueprint<\/p>\n