Winner! The Utah Mammoth hit the jackpot in Las Vegas on Thursday night with a big 4-0 win over the Vegas Golden Knights. Facing a team just as hungry for points, if not hungrier, the Mammoth completely dominated their opponents in the first 10 minutes and rode that momentum all the way to their second straight shutout win.
It’s another big win against a top team in the Western Conference for the Mammoth. The win comes at a great time, as 13 games remain in the Mammoth’s schedule. Here are some takeaways from Thursday’s win.
King of the Hill
The 10 minutes of the first period were crazy. For the Mammoth, it was certainly crazy in a good way.
Less than three minutes into the game, a great pass by John Marino found Clayton Keller, who shot the puck into the back of the net to give the Mammoth an early lead. Four minutes later, a Lawson Crouse shot rebounded off the boards and landed right on Keller’s stick, who once again put the puck into the net for his second goal of the game.
Keller goes skate to stick 🤯
2-0, us! pic.twitter.com/gjuf1T1iql
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) March 20, 2026
The goals were Keller’s 21st and 22nd goals of the season. He’s now up to 67 points in 69 games. In the past two games, the points have been really coming to Keller. He’s got three goals in those two games. He’s just happy they’re starting to go in again after having a three-game stretch with no points.
“Heck of a play by Johnny (Marino) on the one and fortunate bounce,” Keller said. “When you’re around the net, the puck’s gonna find you eventually. I’ve had a lot of chances lately, and just bearing down, and it’s good to see them go in.”
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It wasn’t just Keller who would score in the first 10 minutes. As the Mammoth entered the offensive zone after the second Keller goal, Barrett Hayton slid the puck to Jack McBain, who snapped it home to make it 3-0. It was McBain’s second straight game with a goal.
Three shots and three goals! 🦣🦣🦣 pic.twitter.com/SEoDEh9zs7
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) March 20, 2026
With that, the Mammoth had scored three goals on three shots, meaning Adin Hill hadn’t made a single save despite the score being 3-0. It forced the Knights to put in Akira Schmid as the Mammoth chased out Hill.
The reason the Mammoth won Thursday night’s game was because of a good start, something that is important to a good game. After getting such a big lead, the Mammoth had the time to focus on defending rather than scoring. It’s the way you beat the Knights. They’re an extremely physical team that can hold the lead. Not having to chase them on the scoreboard in a game is huge.
“Against that kind of a team, it’s very important (to play with the lead),” head coach André Tourigny said. “They have size, they have maturity. When they have the lead, they’re even tougher to play against. So obviously, it was huge for us to get on the board early.”
Funny enough, Thursday’s first period wasn’t even the highest-scoring first period the Mammoth have had in Vegas. That record still belongs to the Nov. 30, 2024, game, where the team scored four times. However, despite Thursday being a close second, it truly was a display of how potent and quick the Mammoth’s offense can strike.
Defense and Veggie Hits the Jackpot
While all of the forwards were having fun in the offensive zone, Karel Vejmelka was watching everything unfold. The goaltender didn’t face a high volume of shots until later, something that can screw up a goaltender’s rhythm, especially when they’re just standing there.
Despite the multiple goals, Vejmelka tried his best to stay focused because he knew the Knights would be coming. He needed to be ready for when that time came.
“It was obviously a huge first period, and I knew it was going to be a really tough game, like the rest of the rest of the time,” Vejmelka said. “ I just tried to stay focused, be sharp for every shot, and just be ready.”
Those shots did come. In the final two periods, Vejmelka faced a combined 21 shots. He made some massive saves to keep the Mammoth in it. It was his great play that backstopped his team to the win.
Everyone knew the reason why the Mammoth won on Thursday was because of Vejmelka and his fantastic play. Keller reaffirmed that, saying that the goaltender was the MVP of the game.
“He was unreal,” Keller said. “So many great saves, backdoor one-timers, timely saves. The game hat went to him tonight, and it’s well deserved.”
Veggie said NO ❌ pic.twitter.com/2c5mbQqKFP
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) March 20, 2026
Vejmelka was indeed outstanding, winning his 31st game of the season, but he wasn’t the only guy in the defensive zone shutting down the Knights. The Mammoth’s defense did a terrific job at blocking shots and having good sticks to deflect the puck away from Vejmelka and prevent their opponents from getting passing lanes.
The defense was arguably more noticeable and effective than they were in the 6-3 win over the Dallas Stars a couple of days ago. They made a lot of smart plays that effectively killed time and kept the Knights at bay. Not to mention the penalty kill, which didn’t let one of the best power plays in the NHL even get a solid chance to score.
“I like the way we took their passing lanes away, and we boxed out really hard,” Tourigny said. “Veggie (Vejmelka) made the first save, and we battled hard to make sure he didn’t have to make two or three. I like the way we were urgent around the net.”
It was mentioned earlier how important it was to get that early lead. This is why. The Mammoth were able to focus on their defense and penalty kill without having to stress about scoring. They were more comfortable and didn’t panic at all, unlike the Knights.
The Mammoth also kept up with the physicality the Knights had. They completed checks and kept the Knights in order. When Nick Schmaltz was hit hard by Jeremy Lauzon, Lawson Crouse stepped up to fight him, something he didn’t have to do. He did it because that’s how you protect your teammates.
Defense and goaltending win you hockey games. Sure, offense also plays a big part, but without Vejmelka and the defense performing well on Thursday, the usually high-scoring Knights would’ve definitely caught up with the Mammoth. Obviously, the team can’t let their opponents outshoot them 21-11 in the final two periods every game. However, having an offense that can score early and a blueline and goaltender who can lock it all down throughout the game is what you want in the playoffs, and based on Thursday, that’s how the Mammoth could look next month.
No Hangover in Sin City
Unlike Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, and Bradley Cooper in The Hangover, the Mammoth will be leaving Vegas with all their memories from Thursday night intact because this is a big win for this team. It’s the second straight game where they took down a top team in the Western Conference and in convincing fashion as well.
From the great start to the great goaltending, it was an overall great game for the Mammoth. Yes, there are things to clean up, but you couldn’t be happier with the result, especially because it’s the second straight win for the team. For Vejmelka and Vítek Vaněček, getting the Mammoth back-to-back wins is great for confidence. However, as true great teammates, the thing that matters most to them is getting the wins and points.
“We try to help the team together get a point,” Vejmelka said. “It’s huge for us, for sure, for confidence and stuff. But the most important thing is the win and two points.”
Perhaps the coolest thing about Thursday’s win is the fact that the Mammoth got to convincingly beat out the Knights in front of their own fans. Yes, the game was played in Vegas, but a lot of Mammoth fans drove six hours to support their team. Some of those fans even drove all the way back to Utah after the game to be in attendance 24 hours later at Friday’s home game against the Anaheim Ducks.
The fans were loud, too. “Let’s go, Utah” chants were picked up on the broadcast. You could hear an audible crowd pop after a couple of the Mammoth goals. Most noticeably, “Veggie” chants came from the crowd every time he made a save. The goaltender heard the visiting fans all the way from his crease.
“It’s always nice,” Vejmelka said. “We have so many fans here tonight, so they gave us special energy. We’re thankful.”
Utah showed up. Quite a few Mammoth fans made the trip to Vegas even with a home game tomorrow against Anaheim. #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/FB4ID3WGPd
— Chase Beardsley (@ChaseBeardsley_) March 20, 2026
Those fans got to witness the Mammoth take the season series against the Knights and get their 36th win of the season. It puts them at 78 points, six more than the Seattle Kraken, who currently occupy the second wild card spot.
Like many probably didn’t predict that the Mammoth would lose every game to the Chicago Blackhawks this season, many probably didn’t predict the team to win both of their games on this two-game road trip. Let alone beating the Stars and Knights by a combined score of 10-3. Yet the Mammoth dominated, showing they’re a force to be reckoned with, especially this late in the season.
This is a team that has grown significantly. Compare this Mammoth squad to last year’s. It’s hard to imagine last year’s team beating the Stars that badly. They did beat the Knights 6-0 in late November, but that’s beside the point. This Mammoth team knows how to win tough games against tough opponents, and that’s exactly what they need for the next 13 games going forward and how many other ones after that.
Game 70 won’t be a long wait for the Mammoth, and it won’t be a cake walk either. It’s a quick turnaround from Thursday to Friday as the Ducks await them back in Salt Lake City, looking to strike to get two points and capitalize on the Knights’ loss. However, if these past couple of games have taught us anything, it’s to not underestimate this Mammoth team, even if the odds are stacked against them.
“When you look at that trip early in the season, you may think that’s death row,” Tourigny said. “We came up with four big points. Tomorrow, it’s a huge game for us at home. Good opponent. We need to keep the ball rolling.”
The Mammoth and Ducks will face off against one another on Friday night. The Ducks are 37-27-4 this season and are coming off a 3-2 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. These two teams have met twice this season, with the series being tied up 1-1. The most recent game was in December, where the Mammoth won 7-0 in Anaheim.
