Following a strong start, the Utah Mammoth have hit their first rough patch on the young season.
Meanwhile, the Montreal Canadiens have managed to maintain some early success, even when not at their best.
The visiting Mammoth look to get back on track and keep the host Canadiens from extending their point streak to six games Saturday night.
Utah outscored its opponents 32-17 while winning seven in a row Oct. 15-26, but has yielded 16 goals in going 1-3-0 since. On the second of a back-to-back Wednesday at Toronto, the Mammoth led 1-0 after one period, then allowed the Maple Leafs to have their way in a 5-3 loss.
“It’s about consistency for a full 60,” said Mikhail Sergachev, who scored his third goal of the season Wednesday.
“You got to dig deep and play simple, simplify the game.”
Despite the loss, Utah is 5-4-0 on the road, where it has yet to suffer back-to-back defeats. The Mammoth’s Dylan Guenther has recorded 11 of his 13 points on the road.
After Vitek Vanecek allowed four goals on 18 shots at Toronto, it’s likely Karel Vejmelka will be back in Utah’s net Saturday. Vejmelka, sporting a 2.60 goals-against average, stopped 17 of 18 shots during the Mammoth’s 2-1 overtime victory at Buffalo on Tuesday.
Vejmelka saved 11 of 13 shots, Guenther notched a goal with an assist and Sergachev scored the winner late in overtime of Utah’s 3-2 win in the franchise’s initial visit to Montreal nearly one year ago.
The Canadiens have been one of the NHL’s early surprises with their 9-3-2 start. Despite losing its last two games in a shootout and overtime, respectively, Montreal is amid a 3-0-2 stretch.
Montreal led 3-2 late at New Jersey on Thursday before the Devils forced overtime via a goal with less than two minutes remaining in regulation, then fell 4-3 in overtime of a matchup between two of the three teams, entering Friday, tied for the most points in the Eastern Conference.
“It’s never a good feeling when you lose,” Montreal forward Kirby Dach said.
“We did all, (or) a lot of the right things, had a lot of chances. We just got to find a way to start closing those games out.”
While Canadiens stars Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield have combined for 35 points, Dach has recorded three of his four goals in the last three games. Dach scored twice during Montreal’s 5-3 victory at Utah last season.
The Canadiens’ Jakub Dobes made 24 saves against the Devils while falling to 6-0-1 this season. He still owns a 2.25 GAA, but was hard on himself after the loss.
However, Dobes’ teammates certainly appreciate his value on the young campaign.
“We all have his back,” said Canadiens defenseman Noah Dobson, who has five assists in the last four games.
“He’s been great for us all year. I’m sure he’ll continue to do so.”
Meanwhile, teammate Sam Montembeault has a 4.10 GAA in his last five starts (2-2-1).
–Field Level Media
