Late in the first period, Nate Schmidt<\/a> (former Knight) found Cooley with a nice pass right near the faceoff dot. Cooley shot it into the back of the net for the first-ever Mammoth playoff goal. It gave the Mammoth an early lead, capitalizing on the good hockey they had been playing the whole period.<\/p>\n Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Logan Cooley! pic.twitter.com\/rAdc10G5P2<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 x \u2013 Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) April 20, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n That wasn\u2019t the only thing Cooley made history for. Back in the franchise\u2019s very first game, the forward assisted on Guenther\u2019s goal, the very first in franchise history. With him scoring the goal tonight, Cooley became only the sixth player in NHL history to record a point on a new franchise\u2019s first regular-season goal and postseason goal.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t just the offense that Cooley brought to the table on Sunday. He brought a new level of intensity that no one had ever seen from him before. Cooley was going after players in scrums, egging guys on, and wearing the biggest smile while doing so.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s gonna be guys that grab you and try to bring you into the fight, and you\u2019ve got to make sure you\u2019re sticking out for each other, getting each other\u2019s backs,\u201d Cooley said. \u201cWe did a good job of that, handling it the right way. We\u2019ve got to make sure we\u2019re controlling our energy, too.\u201d<\/p>\n That physicality and antagonizing trait led to him and Nic Dowd getting into a tussle. That resulted in Dowd saying\u2026some intense threats to Cooley.<\/p>\n Postgame, Nic Dowd declined to clarify or comment on what he said to Cooley. #TusksUp<\/a> #ForgedInGold<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/SrZFyGjguU<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Chase Beardsley (@ChaseBeardsley_) April 20, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n Yet Cooley kept standing up for his teammates in what was the most physical game of his career. It adds up. Cooley wants to win, and he\u2019s very passionate about that. He\u2019s a competitor, and he\u2019ll do anything it takes to allow his team to win hockey games.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s one of the biggest competitors I know,\u201d Lawson Crouse<\/a> said. \u201cHe\u2019s done that all season long, ever since I\u2019ve known him and played with him. He\u2019s a battler and definitely a guy that you want to follow when he\u2019s playing like that. It\u2019s encouraging and energizing for the group.\u201d<\/p>\n Head coach Andr\u00e9 Tourigny doesn\u2019t hand out appraisals like candy. You have to earn it. Cooley has been on the other side of Tourigny\u2019s comments before. On Sunday, his play in his very first playoff game earned him a very positive comment.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was on a mission,\u201d Tourigny said. \u201cHe was really good. His line played a solid game. You guys know how Cools is, how competitive he is, and I think he just put it on display.\u201d<\/p>\n We\u2019ll see if this extremely physical Cooley continues to stick around. He can\u2019t be doing stuff like what he did to Dowd on one of the last faceoffs. Either way, Cooley and his line with Guenther and Kailer Yamamoto was by far the best line on Sunday, and it wasn\u2019t even close.<\/p>\n Needing More From the Top Guys<\/p>\n Speaking of lines, the performance of the top line of Crouse, Clayton Keller, and Nick Schmaltz was a big reason why the Mammoth lost on Sunday. Here\u2019s why.<\/p>\n There are only three players on the Mammoth who were on the ice for all three Knights goals with Karel Vejmelka in net. Those three players were Crouse, Keller, and Schmaltz, the latter two ending the night with a minus-three in the plus-minus category. The line was not great defensively, with Crouse ending the night as a minus player as well.<\/p>\n Offensively, it was just as bad. The line looked invisible. Schmaltz managed three shots, but only the one at the end really had any chance of getting by Carter Hart. Keller\u2019s two shots came in the same time span in the third period. At least Crouse got an assist on Cooley\u2019s goal. That\u2019s where the good pretty much ends.<\/p>\n You\u2019re not going to pin a loss solely on one line. It\u2019s not like the bottom six were perfect. However, these are your top players who are paid to score consistently. Instead, they looked invisible in the biggest game of the season so far.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like we can be better,\u201d Crouse said. \u201cWe\u2019re competitive guys. We want to do whatever we can to help this team win, just like everyone in our locker room. We\u2019re gonna try and step up.\u201d<\/p>\n I mentioned in the series preview<\/a> that Keller would be a huge factor in this series, especially as a guy who thrived in the playoff bubble. The forward had 88 points this season, and to only have two shots around the same timeframe as each other, that\u2019s not the standard. Not to mention, you need to have players see that your captain is doing well. It\u2019s motivation at its finest.<\/p>\n Tourigny knows that the line didn\u2019t do much of anything on Sunday but defended the trio. Especially with Crouse mentioning how the line needs to step up, there\u2019s no need to pour gasoline on a fire. It\u2019s trust that is needed, faith that those guys will rethink and work on their play leading up to Game 2.<\/p>\n \u201cThey worked really hard,\u201d Tourigny said. \u201cI think Crouser was really physical. I think they tried to do a lot. I don\u2019t think there was a lot happened, but I think their effort was there.\u201d<\/p>\n Crouse did have nine hits, which led the Mammoth and was super important. However, at the end of the day, it\u2019s simple. You need more offense from some of your highest-paid players.<\/p>\n Playoff Jitters Out of the Way<\/p>\n We all knew coming into this one that there would be some sort of playoff jitters due to the fact that so many guys had never played in a playoff game, or if they had, it was a long time ago. In the first two periods, it didn\u2019t really show. In the third, it became more obvious.<\/p>\n After they allowed the Knights to score three straight goals and come back<\/a> with the lead, Vejmelka looked a little shaky. There is no chance that any of the loss should be blamed on him. Outside of losing a little bit of confidence after the third goal, he was solid, rocking a .900 save percentage.<\/p>\n The lack of experience affected the bottom six as well. Yes, the top line was by far the most disappointing part of Sunday\u2019s loss, but the depth was a close second. A lot of their job entails winning faceoffs and being physical. That did not happen on Sunday. The Mammoth only won 44.8% of their faceoffs. Additionally, the Knights\u2019 bottom six had 22 hits. The Mammoth\u2019s bottom six only had 11.<\/p>\n That\u2019s a big problem. Especially in a series that will continue getting more and more physical as time goes on, the Mammoth need players to battle and hit back.\u00a0<\/p>\n The penalty kill needs to be better as well. This was a top Knights power play coming into this series, and the Mammoth knew that. Instead, Mark Stone\u2019s power play goal kicked off three unanswered goals scored by the Knights.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are a lot of lessons to be had tonight,\u201d Schmidt said. \u201cOur effort was there. There were some momentum swings. That\u2019s the playoffs, and they scored a power play goal to get it even there early in the third. I think it tilted the ice a little bit for them. I liked our response throughout the last little part of the game. There are things to build on for Game 2.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s only Game 1. There\u2019s still time to fix whatever needs to be fixed. However, don\u2019t mistake that for a break. If the Mammoth lose Game 2, it becomes a slippery slope as then the tbe two losses away from the end of their season.\u00a0<\/p>\n Being calm about Game 1 is ok. The Mammoth actually played really well in the first and the second period. They just need to show they can play like that through the full 60.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t forget, this is Tourigny\u2019s first time coaching in the playoffs as well. With Game 1 out of the way, he knows what to expect in Game 2. Speed is the name of the game, and if you look at the best chances from the Mammoth on Sunday, it was their speed that got them those looks.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know Vegas is a really good team,\u201d Tourigny said. \u201cIt was a hard-fought game. It was physical, it was intense. Every inch was contested. I\u2019m proud of our prep, I like the way we came out, and I think the guys were pretty composed. We\u2019re in control\u2026We know when we exploit our speed, that\u2019s a good factor for us.\u201d<\/p>\n Getting mad, sad, or even disappointed with Game 1\u2019s loss shouldn\u2019t be the move for the Mammoth locker room. What they did in the first two periods, despite most of the players on the team being new to postseason hockey, was remarkable. It provides something to build off on.<\/p>\n Now, the Mammoth get the usual off day to prepare themselves for an important Game 2. If they can figure out how to use their speed and get the top line going, they\u2019re in good shape to send the series to Utah all tied up at one.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no reason for us to be down on ourselves right now,\u201d Crouse said. \u201cWe got another game and in a day and a half or two days, whatever it is, so just clean it up and get ready for the next one.\u201d<\/p>\n The Mammoth will play the Knights in Game 2 on Tuesday night. The Knights currently lead the series 1-0<\/a>.<\/p>\n Free Newsletter<\/p>\n \n Get Utah Mammoth coverage delivered to your inbox <\/p>\n In-depth analysis, breaking news, and insider takes – free.<\/p>\n![\"Ian](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Ivan-Barbashev-Golden-Knights-Ian-Cole-Mammoth-1200x800.jpg\")
Vegas Golden Knights left wing Ivan Barbashev checks Utah Mammoth defenseman Ian Cole in Game 1 of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs (Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n