Utah Mammoth loss to Ottawa Senators, Digi Mart USA News (Ottawa): The Utah Mammoth fell to the Ottawa Senators 4-2 in a close game that came down to the final minutes. Utah brought a strong effort, but the team came up short at the end of an 11-day, five-game road trip through the East.
Head coach André Tourigny said the players worked hard and competed throughout the game. He acknowledged that fatigue may have played a role late in the trip and pointed to some management decisions that the team needs to make better when tired.
“At the end of the day, it’s a 2-2-1 trip and we need to go home and recharge,” Tourigny said. “We could or should have kept at least one point.”
Ottawa’s Fabian Zetterlund opened the scoring in the final seconds of a Senators power play. Utah responded about four and a half minutes later when captain Clayton Keller capitalized on his own rebound to tie the game 1-1.
Michael Amadio then gave Ottawa a 2-1 lead six and a half minutes into the third period, but Barrett Hayton scored his second goal of the season to tie it again.
Ottawa scored twice in the final three minutes of regulation, including an empty-net goal, to secure both points. Utah registered 32 shots on goal and had plenty of quality chances throughout the game.
Tourigny said the pressure the team applied was a positive, while noting that Ottawa played a structured game.
Keller said the team did many good things and that it is always possible to learn from a loss. “Just build on tonight,” he said.
“It sucks to lose, but you can always learn from it and take it into the next game.”
The loss was the final game of Utah’s second five-game road trip this season. The team has played 12 road games this season, tied with Minnesota for the most in the NHL.
Utah will play one more road game Wednesday night in Vegas before returning home for a five-game homestand.
