Ducks Earn Big Against Mammoth Opponent

Photo: NHL

By Michael Walters

The Anaheim Ducks went to Utah for a quick one game road trip agains the Mammoth. Lukas Dostal was in net against Vitek Vanecek. Mason McTavish drew back in the lineup after being scratched the last two games.

The Utah struck first with a goal in the opening minutes of the game. Dylan Guenther beat Dostal over the shoulder from the left face-off circle with a one timer.

Anaheim answered back with a shorthanded goal by Ryan Poehling. He got to a puck at the Anaheim blue line and raced down the left side of the rink before coming in on Vanecek beating him stick side on a partial breakaway. The teams were tied at one after the first period.

Early in the second period Jeffrey Viel and Jack McBain dropped the gloves in a spirited bout.

Alex Killorn gave Anaheim the 2-1 just before the halfway point of the period. He got the puck in the slot and beat Vanecek who was sitting in the crease after having made a save on a previous shot. The Ducks led 2-1 after two periods.

Utah applied pressure in the third and couldn’t score so they pulled their goalie in the final minutes. The Ducks got two empty net goals from Cutter Gauthier and Mikael Granlund to make it a 4-1 final.

Analysis:

The Ducks had an absolute terrible start to this contest. They gave up the first goal less than two minutes in and didn’t register a shot on goal until about 12 minutes into the first period. Poehling provided a spark for the team scoring a shorthanded goal with just over six minutes to go in the period. Anaheim was out shot 14 to 5 in the first period.

The Ducks came out stronger in the second period and were able to get the lead. Anaheim also tightened up their defensive game only allowing 16 shots on goal in the second and third period after giving up 14 alone in the opening frame. The Mammoth overall were the better puck possession team at even strength with a CF% of 60.42% and FF% of 58.06%, which were somewhat inflated because of the poor first period by Anaheim.

The power play continues to be an issue for Anaheim as they went 0-for-5 in this contest. The Mammoth weren’t much better going 0-for-3. Utah also gave up a shorthanded goal which was a key play to salvage the first period, and possibly the game, for Anaheim.

Killorn had himself a night scoring the game winning goal. He also assisted on Poehling’s shorthanded goal and Granlund’s empty net goal. He was all over the ice playing nearly 17 minutes putting up four shots and registering one hit.

McTavish returned to the lineup and was involved in the sequence which led to Killorn’s goal. He didn’t get an assist since a couple players touched the puck after him before Killorn scored. He played just over 10 minutes and otherwise had a relatively quiet night.

Jacob Trouba made a great defensive play stopping Clayton Keller in the latter stages of the third period. Keller got a rebound at the side of the net and had a wide open goal to shoot at, but Trouba was in the right spot and blocked his shot with his stick. It would have tied the game and possibly could have sent the game to overtime. Instead Anaheim held onto the one goal lead and got some empty net scores to go on to win.

Team Stats/News:

Anaheim is 22-0-0 when leading after two periods.

Gauthier scored his team leading 36 goal of the season.

Ducks are tied for fourth among the lead in shorthanded goals with 8 on the season.

Anaheim reached 80 points this season which was their total at the end of last season.

The Ducks extended their lead over the Oilers to three points of first place in the Pacific Division.

What’s Next?

The Ducks host the Buffalo Sabres this Sunday at 5 PM.

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March 21st, 2026