NHL: Mammoth not sweating handing home ice back to Golden Knights

After dropping a hard-fought overtime loss and missing a chance to take a commanding 3-1 series lead, the Utah Mammoth remain confident as they head to Las Vegas for Game 5 of their best-of-seven Western Conference first-round matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday night.

“There’s still plenty of hockey left in this series, a tied (2-2) series going back,” Mammoth defenseman Ian Cole said. “It’s a three-game series. We’re focusing on what we can control and where we stand right now. I think that will do us well.”

Utah fell behind 3-0 in Monday’s game but responded with four unanswered goals to take a 4-3 lead. Brett Howden then scored his second goal of the night midway through the third period to even the score at 4-4, before Shea Theodore sealed the win for Vegas with 52 seconds left in the first overtime.

Despite the loss, Utah coach Andre Tourigny pointed to his team’s resilience as a positive takeaway heading into Game 5.

“The pride our guys showed, the resiliency, the way we played the second half of the game — I think there’s a lot to be proud of, a lot to build on,” Tourigny said. “Obviously, our start is a big thing. We need to have a hard and really intense start from everybody.”

Forward Clayton Keller, who has recorded a goal and two assists through the first four games, emphasized the importance of staying composed.

“That’s something we’ve worked at all year,” Keller said. “We’ve gotten better, and this is the time we need to be even-keeled the most.”

Statistically, the series has been nearly even. Both teams have scored 13 goals, Utah holds a narrow 168-167 advantage in hits, and Mammoth goaltender Karel Vejmelka slightly edges Vegas netminder Carter Hart in save percentage, .899 to .886.

“We just got to fix the start and I think we’ll be fine,” said Utah defenseman Mikhail Sergachev, who recorded three assists in Monday’s loss.

The overtime victory snapped a two-game skid for Vegas and helped the team regain home-ice advantage. Game 6 will be played Friday in Salt Lake City, with a potential Game 7 set for Sunday in Las Vegas.

“Found a way to win,” said Vegas coach John Tortorella. “That’s something that we can lean on as we keep moving on in these games.”

Golden Knights defenseman Jeremy Lauzon added: “Obviously, it was a huge game for us. We really needed that, but it’s still a long series. There’s a lot of games coming up, so we’ve got to be ready for the next one.”

Utah has already won two of its three meetings in Las Vegas this season, including a 3-2 victory in Game 2 on a third-period goal by Logan Cooley.

“There are going to be huge ebbs and flows. It’s playoff hockey,” said Golden Knights forward Cole Smith, who scored his first career playoff goal in Game 4.

“It’s a tough series,” Vegas defenseman Rasmus Andersson said. “Two good teams. It feels like a battle every night, which playoffs should be. We just try to keep our emotions in check. Now it’s a best-of-three, and we’ve got home advantage again. It’s a good feeling going into tomorrow.” -Field Level Media/Reuters