Mammoth strike early, hold off Capitals in 3-2 road win

WASHINGTON D.C. — After the team's performance in Sunday's loss, the only direction the Mammoth could go was up; and up they went.

Utah kicked off its five-game road trip in Washington D.C. on Tuesday, where they looked like a completely different team than the one that took the ice against the Blackhawks. The Mammoth jumped out to a quick lead that set the tone in a 3-2 win over the Capitals.

A pair of first period goals helped Utah take a two-goal advantage and to regain some confidence after being shutout at home for the first time all season in its previous game.

The Mammoth's power play looked great against Washington as they were 2-for-2 on the man advantage. It wasn't, however, a perfect game for Utah's special teams despite the success they had scoring the puck. The Capitals also scored on their two power-play opportunities in what was a tough night for the Mammoth's penalty kill unit.

Utah head coach Andre Tourigny made a couple tweaks to his lineup ahead of the matchup, moving Dylan Guenther up to the top line with Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz, while Lawson Crouse joined Logan Cooley and J.J. Peterka on the second line.

"I tried to spark something," Tourigny said at morning skate Tuesday. "I think (Cooley), (McBain) and (Guenther) together since they're back had highs and lows so I tried to mix it a little bit and create a little spark."

The change paid dividends as the top two lines combined for all three goals for Utah. Keller and Guenther each recorded 2 points to help power the Mammoth offense.

Guenther scored his 28th goal of the season, setting a new career-high, after his wrist shot hit the top shelf to get past Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson midway through the first period.

"I haven't really played with them a ton, so it's just exciting," Guenther said. "Two really good players, really good with the puck, really good away from the puck, too. I think when we just play direct and try to outwork the other team then our skill can take over."

It was the first of two goals in the period for Utah as they came out with much more energy and pace than they did on Sunday.

Mikhail Sergachev took advantage of the Washington penalty shortly after Guenther's goal by scoring on the power play. Barrett Hayton set up right in front of the goal and made it hard for Thompson to see Sergachev's shot.

Washington scored the first of their two power play goals after drawing a penalty near the end of the opening period. Seconds before the time on the man advantage expired, Pierre Luc-Dubois fired a shot that just went over the head of Karel Vejmelka and into the net.

The Mammoth prevented the Capitals from allowing the momentum to swing their way following the goal by Luc-Dubois. Utah kept control of the pace in what was a gritty period from both teams.

Keller got tripped up by a Washington skater, giving way to another power play for the Mammoth. Peterka scored on the power play after sneaking the puck past Thompson, who nearly made the save but as he tried collecting the puck, he knocked it into the net.

Ryan Leonard scored on the Capitals second man advantage as he got his wrist shot just above Vejmelka to help Washington once again make it a one-goal lead but Utah was able to hold onto the lead for the final 13 minutes.

Peterka's goal ended up being the difference maker after the Mammoth withstood the late push and increased pressure from the Capitals after Thompson was pulled in order to give them an extra skater to try and tie the game.

"I thought we did a pretty good job weathering the storm as much as we could," Keller said. "They're a great veteran team. They made it hard on us, they pressured us all over the ice but I was proud of the way we fought there towards the end."

Utah will be back in action in Philadelphia on Thursday to take on the Flyers.

Related topics