Nashville's Stamkos nets 2 goals in 2 minutes to sink Mammoth

SALT LAKE CITY — The second ever "Ice Age" game did not disappoint.

It was a back-and-forth affair at the Delta Center between the Mammoth and Predators, but it was Nashville who prevailed in a 4-3 victory Monday night.

Coming off a strong showing in Colorado, backup goaltender Vitek Vanecek struggled in his second consecutive start. Vanecek allowed four goals on 26 shots to the Predators after he held the Avs' potent offense to just one goal.

Steven Stamkos was the difference maker Monday, with the two-time Stanley Cup champion scoring two third period goals to lift the Predators over Utah. Stamkos totaled 3 points in the win, assisting on Nashville's first goal of the night.

On the first power play of the game, Dylan Guenther found a cutting J.J. Peterka near the net, and Peterka sank the game's first goal. It was Peterka's 15th goal of the season and Guenther's 31st point.

The Predators flipped the script and got more aggressive, putting more pressure on Vanecek. Nashville captain Roman Josi rifled a shot by Vanecek to even things up 1-1.

The Mammoth controlled the puck for much of the opening period, creating good shots but failed to take a lead after one. Utah failed to capitalize on their second man advantage of the opening frame since the Predators successfully killed off the power play.

The second period was very much like the first. Just a couple minutes in, Mikhail Sergachev helped the Mammoth retake the lead with a slap shot from near the blue line that blazed past Nashville defenders and through the posts.

Sean Durzi earned an assist on Sergachev's goal, making it his 100th of his NHL career.

But just like before, Nashville tied things up when Luke Evangelista rebounded the puck off Vanecek's pad and sunk his sixth goal of the season. The Predators had a chance to take the lead when they went on the man advantage, but Utah got the penalty kill to keep things evened up.

Guenther connected for a goal to give himself his second point of the night. He made some moves around the net as he pushed the puck past Nashville goaltender Juuse Saros and gave the Mammoth the 3-2 lead. With the goal, Guenther extended his team-lead with his 17th goal of the season.

"I think he played a complete game," Mammoth head coach Andre Tourgny said. "He played a game that we know what he's capable of. Tonight, he played against the top line all night long, did a really good job five on five, and he scored a big goal. I think he's playing really good hockey right now."

A mistake by one of the top penalty kill units in the league hurt Utah as Stamkos found himself open for a clean shot on net, and the future Hall of Famer buried it. Not even two minutes later, Stamkos found the back of the net again on a pass from Ryan O'Reilly to give the Predators its first lead of the game.

Nashville held onto the lead for good, despite plenty of opportunities from the Mammoth, including a 25 second five-on-three advantage.

"We played really good for a long stretch of the game, five-on-five, on our power play, even on our PK," Tourgny said. "Big mistake on the PK there, the broken stick it was four-on-four, we should have been more aggressive."

Earlier in the day, the Mammoth announced today that Vejmelka was placed on injured reserve (upper-body), retroactive to Dec. 23. Matt Villalta was recalled from the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL to back up Vanecek, who made his second-consecutive start Monday night.

With Vejmelka placed on IR for nearly a week, he will be eligible to return for Utah's next game against the New York Islanders. The good news for the Mammoth is Vejmelka shouldn't miss an extended period of time. He participated in morning skate before the Mammoth's game against Nashville.

Utah will begin its three-game road trip east against the Islanders on Thursday. They'll also face the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers before returning home.

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