Mammoth aiming to ‘get the next step’ into Stanley Cup Playoffs

It’s been a slow build through some lean seasons since then. The Mammoth made a late push for a playoff berth last season, but they were mathematically eliminated with four games remaining in their inaugural campaign.

So, it’s not surprising Keller said they are “super hungry” to get in this season. They’re almost close enough to taste it now.

“It’s nice,” Keller said. “Previously we kind of were in a different situation where it was not impossible, but it was a lot harder than it is now. So. for sure it’s super exciting and it’s where we want to go.”

Utah has supported its young core by acquiring Stanley Cup winners such as defenseman Mikhail Sergachev (Tampa Bay Lightning, 2020, 2021), Ian Cole (Pittsburgh Penguins, 2016, 2017) and Nate Schmidt (Florida Panthers, 2025), forward Kevin Stenlund (Florida, 2024) and backup goalie Vitek Vanecek (Florida, 2025). But it also has young players who are desperate for their first taste of the playoffs, such as forwards Logan Cooley, 21, Dylan Guenther, 22, and JJ Peterka, 24.

They’ve been around long enough to understand what’s at stake during the final six weeks of the regular season, but Tourigny reminded everyone Tuesday morning anyway.

“‘Bear’ talked about it,” Guenther said. “He was like, ‘We’ve waited five years to kind of be in this spot and to really have an opportunity to take that next step.’ So, I think we’ve waited and we’ve earned it too. We’re a hard-working team, and when we’re playing really well, we’re hard to play against.”

The Mammoth demonstrated that against the Capitals, controlling play from the drop of the puck and jumping out to a 2-0 lead on goals from Guenther and Sergachev in the opening 13:23. Utah had Washington on its heels for much of the first two periods before having to hold on in the third, when goalie Karel Vejmelka made 11 of his 23 saves.

“I thought we were on our heels a little bit, so definitely some teaching points there,” said Guenther, who set an NHL career high with his 28th goal of the season. “… But I thought we just worked hard.”

The Mammoth will need to continue to do that to bring playoff hockey to Utah for the first time. That’s part of their motivation as well.

“We know what it would mean,” Tourigny sad. “We’re part of the market, we’re part of the people, and we want everybody in Utah to be excited, and we want success for our organization. We want to have a championship organization and build one step at a time.

“It’s important to get the next step.”