LAS VEGAS -- Clayton Keller took a deep breath as he summed up the situation after the Utah Mammoth lost 5-4 in double overtime to the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 5 of the Western Conference First Round at T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday.
After two straight 5-4 OT losses, Utah has gone from leading the best-of-7 series 2-1 to trailing 3-2. The Mammoth face elimination in Game 6 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday (10 p.m. ET; Utah16, SCRIPPS, ESPN, TVAS2, SN360, SN).
But the way this series has gone, does anyone believe Utah can’t force a Game 7 and come right back here with a chance to advance to the second round Sunday?
“I think we’re a confident group,” said Keller, the Mammoth captain. “We believe in one another and in our team, and I think these are the most fun games to be a part of. Down 3-2, we get to go home, play in front of our fans. If you’re not fired up for that, then you’ve got something wrong with you.”
Utah has had a third-period lead in each of the five games in the series. There are two ways to look at that:
One, the Mammoth have missed opportunities and need to be better in those situations. Maybe the disparity in playoff experience has made a slight difference. This is the first Stanley Cup Playoff appearance for Utah and many of its players. This is Vegas’ eighth playoff appearance in nine seasons, and several of its players were part of the Stanley Cup team in 2023.
“I think those are opportunities you need to take to close the game,” coach Andre Tourigny said Thursday before the Mammoth traveled home. “There’s details. There’s poise. There’s play with the puck. We need to be a little bit better.”
But two, Utah has had a chance to win each game, and for perspective, Vegas was perhaps the best third-period team in the NHL in the regular season.
The Golden Knights scored 108 goals in the third period, first in the NHL, and allowed 61, second fewest in the League, two behind the Colorado Avalanche. They won six games when trailing after two periods, tied for fourth in the League.
“We’re right there,” Tourigny said. “We knew it would be a fight. It is what it is. We want to go back to Salt Lake for Game 6 in front of our fans, and we’ll give it our all, and we’ll work from there. But I think we’re really confident in what we can achieve out there. We’re really confident in our group. I like the way we play. I like the fight in our guys. I like our execution. Now it comes down to one game.”
