The Utah Mammoth will endeavor to climb back into a playoff spot when they host the St. Louis Blues on Friday in Salt Lake City.
Utah, which will play the second game of a season-high seven-game homestand, began Thursday one point behind the Los Angeles Kings, who also play Friday, for the second and final wild-card spot from the Western Conference. The Mammoth are tied in points with the Anaheim Ducks, who play Thursday at the Carolina Hurricanes. Losses by each of the California squads combined with a Mammoth win would move Utah into the second wild card.
The team heads into Friday’s tilt having won three of its past four games after dropping four of its previous six. Most recently, the Mammoth skated away with a 3-1 victory against the Ottawa Senators in the homestand opener on Wednesday. They scored twice early in the first period and then added an insurance tally early in the third.
“I really think when the game is on the line, when push comes to shove, we really raise our game,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. “We raised our urgency (against Ottawa), were really stingy, and we had composure. So, I like the way we closed out the game. When it was 2-1, there was no panic, no stress in our game, just urgency and focus.”
Winger Dylan Guenther continues to enjoy a strong season. After posting career highs across the board offensively last season with 27 goals and 33 assists for 60 points, the 22-year-old is on pace to reach new personal bests again this year. He leads the Mammoth with 21 goals in 44 games, a 39-goal pace over a full 82-game campaign, while his 37 points work out to a 69-point clip.
The Blues, meanwhile, aim to bounce back after a 7-3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday. That snapped a two-game winning streak for St. Louis, which has yet to win three straight this season.
“Really frustrating,” Blues forward Robert Thomas said. “We all felt like we were turning the corner, too, and taking steps forward. Obviously didn’t (Wednesday).”
St. Louis, which entered Thursday’s schedule four points out of the second wild card, had won three of its previous five games.
Special teams have been an issue for the Blues. The power play was 0-for-5 against Chicago and is now just 2-for-27 (7.4%) since Dec. 17. Overall, they sit 24th in the league on the man advantage, with a 16.5% success rate.
The penalty kill, which sits 28th in the NHL at 76.5%, had been enjoying a successful stretch with just one goal against on 14 opportunities before giving up three on four opportunities against the Blackhawks.
The Blues’ second-period struggles continued in the loss, with four goals against. Three of those came after St. Louis tied it, including the go-ahead goal 35 seconds after the equalizer. They’ve allowed 59 goals in the middle frame, most in the NHL.
“We can’t get frustrated,” Thomas said. “We’ve got to keep sticking to our game plan even though we’re getting chances that aren’t going in. … It’s obviously been a weakness of ours all season long and something we’re trying to correct.”
–Field Level Media
