The Utah Mammoth are human after all
· Yahoo Sports
If the Utah Mammoth are Superman, which their season was starting to suggest heading into Thursday night, the Boston Bruins have a big chunk of Kryptonite buried at center ice.
Visit esporist.org for more information.
The Mammoth just can’t get anything done at TD Garden.
Thursday’s 6-1 loss for Utah, which came on the two-year anniversary of the team’s inaugural game, marked its third blunder in three visits to Beantown. Utah has now been outscored 11-2 there.
A glass-half-full analysis would point out that the impact of a five-goal loss is no different in the standings than a one-goal loss. The Mammoth can simply put it behind them and move on.
If the glass is half-empty, though, Utah’s special teams were suddenly helpless and neither of its goaltenders could make a save.
“The first thing is to let it sting a little bit,” said Mammoth head coach André Tourigny after the game. “I think we need tosit on it and let it sting before reloading. We’ll need to think about what we can take from that game.”
Ironically, Utah outshot Boston by nearly a 2:1 ratio and had almost twice as many power plays. The Mammoth just couldn’t capitalize on any of them.
David Pastrnak has his first goal as the captain of the Boston Bruins 🐻 pic.twitter.com/VDIOjHKJd4
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 8, 2026
Despite leading the NHL in power play percentage and ranking third on the penalty kill heading into the game, Utah went 0 for 7 with the man-advantage and allowed three goals on four penalties.
“We just weren’t connected,” said team captain Clayton Keller. “It was just not a good game. ... I don’t know what it was tonight, but we’ve got to flush it.
“We’ll be confident. We’ll learn from tonight. It’s not going to be smooth all year long. We’re a confident group and we know how good we can be, so we’ll learn from tonight and be ready to go (Saturday) against Buffalo.”
Mammoth rookie goaltender Sebastian Cossa got his first taste of NHL adversity. He started the game, allowed three saveable goals on eight shots and was pulled before the first period even ended.
The TV camera showed Cossa on the bench immediately after being pulled, shaking his head with a bewildered look on his face. His job now is to shake it off.
“It will be a great learning experience for him,” said Tourigny, whose specialty is coaching young players like Cossa. “What’s important is he cannot beat himself up.”
Karel Vejmelka’s numbers in relief of Cossa weren’t great either, although the three goals he allowed were significantly harder to save. All three were one-timers from the left circle with absolutely nobody covering the open man.
Thursday marked Andrew Peeke’s first visit to TD Garden since signing with the Mammoth this summer, and it was JJ Peterka’s first time facing his former team since being traded to the Bruins at the draft.
Both have had excellent starts to the season in their new homes, but even with the lopsided score, both finished the game with a -1 plus/minus.
Boston Bruins' David Pastrnak (88) is congratulated after his goal against the Utah Mammoth during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) | Charles Krupa