Between the 108 penalty minutes, the apparent death threat and an entire season’s stakes on the line, the first-round playoff series between the Utah Mammoth and the Vegas Golden Knights last spring was intense.
Both teams look to maintain that intensity on Wednesday, when they meet for the first time since Game 6.
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“I’m sure there will be a few battle scars and a few sparks, but we like to hate our opponent, (whoever) they are,” said Mammoth head coach André Tourigny after practice on Monday. “I think you want that approach. You want to go every night and you want to get a piece of them and bite their heart. They’re no different, for sure. We may want to take two bites.”
Logan Cooley, who had a four-goal game against the Golden Knights last season and led the Mammoth into the fight emotionally in the playoffs, is looking forward to the game.
“It’s obviously always a fun building to play in,” he told the Deseret News. “The atmosphere is unbelievable and they’re a really good team. They have a lot of good players, play physical, hard.
“Obviously, there’s a lot of history now, since the playoffs and playing against them, kind of building that rival. … And we’ve got to be ready from the start because They got a lot of good players.”
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Both teams find themselves in playoff positions going at the time of writing, though that could change by the time the puck drops at T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday. While neither team’s season hinges on one game alone like they did in the playoffs, it could have a big impact on both teams’ ultimate placement in the standings.
As of Monday evening, the Golden Knights have the ninth-best power play percentage in the NHL (26.3%) and they’ve taken the ninth-most shots per game (28.5), resulting in the 14th-most goals per game this season.
The Mammoth have rank even higher than the Golden Knights in all three of those categories, meaning this could be a war of offensive weapons. Both teams have ample talent that can and does put the puck in the net.
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On the defensive side, however, the Golden Knights have the advantage.
They’ve allowed the fifth-fewest goals against per game (2.63) compared to the 26th-ranked Mammoth. Vegas ranks fifth in team save percentage, while Utah places third-last.
Much of that is due to Utah’s sudden slew of injuries on the back end — namely their entire second defensive pairing of John Marino and Nate Schmidt.
Ever since joining forces near the beginning of the 2025–26 season, they have been one of the best pairings in the league, but their spots are now occupied by players with much less NHL experience.
It’s also well-documented that Utah’s goalies have not played to their perceived capabilities, though Tourigny mentioned on Monday that he believes they’re “trending in the right direction.”
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That matches the eye test for the team’s game in Ottawa Saturday night, where despite losing, Karel Vejmelka had one of his better performances of late. Sebastian Cossa doesn’t have the league’s best stats, but he tends to make enough saves to keep his team in games.
The Golden Knights have enjoyed success from Tomáš Hertl, who ended last season on a scoring slump but now has four goals in his last three games. Additionally, rookie Trevor Connelly has been a good addition, with seven goals and 12 points in 19 games to start his NHL career.
Start time: 7:30 p.m. MT, Wednesday, Nov. 11
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
TV: TNT, HBO Max, TruTV
Radio: KSL SportsZone (97.5 FM, 1280 AM); NHL app
