The Pittsburgh Penguins and Utah Mammoth will look to bounce back from one-sided losses when they meet Monday night in Salt Lake City.
The Penguins were routed 6-2 by the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday night in Las Vegas, around the same time the Mammoth suffered an identical loss to the visiting Edmonton Oilers.
The defeat was Pittsburgh’s third straight loss and its sixth in seven games (1-5-1) following a 2-0 start. Monday’s game in Utah will conclude a four-game road trip for the Penguins, who have surrendered at least five goals in each of the first three games.
“We can’t be feeling bad for ourselves. It’s on all of us, myself included,” Penguins coach Dan Muse said. “So, together as a group, we’ve got to dig in. We have to find consistency in our game. There’s a lot coming off of (Saturday) night that we have to clean up from a structural standpoint.”
The Golden Knights gave Pittsburgh a lesson in puck management, scoring three even-strength goals in the first period before Sidney Crosby scored a power-play goal at 5:54 of the second to cut the deficit to 3-1.
“They’re looking for opportunities, really high-scoring chances, not just throwing it in the net,” Penguins goaltender Sergei Murashov said of the Golden Knights. “Obviously, high-skill guys, but at the same time, it doesn’t actually matter who you’re facing as long as you’re focusing on your game, it’s going to work. It just challenges you to bring the best on the table from you. When you’re able to do that, you can handle that.”
The Mammoth hoped to build on their 4-2 victory over the Oilers on Thursday in Edmonton but couldn’t match that energy in the second game of the home-and-home series Saturday.
“We knew it would be challenging, they will be ready on the other side,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. “The kind of game it was in Edmonton, we knew it would be the same thing here (Saturday) night.”
Tourigny was unhappy with Utah’s performance in one-on-one puck battles and its inability to match Edmonton’s physicality.
“It would be a challenge for the second game in a row, where we will have that level of physicality and compete,” Tourigny said. “Kudos to Edmonton. They did it for two games in a row, and we didn’t.”
The loss snapped Utah’s three-game winning streak and resembled a 6-1 defeat to the Boston Bruins that preceded the recent run.
“We can talk about learning, but we need to take those strides,” Utah forward Lawson Crouse said. “It’s a decision to go out there, play fast, play to our identity and win battles. I love the response. Not giving up, it seems like we never do, but we need that from the drop of the puck.”
The Mammoth won’t have to wait long for another matchup with Pittsburgh. The teams are scheduled to meet again Oct. 29 in Pittsburgh.
“It doesn’t matter if you win or lose, they will come in the next game and they want to beat you, especially at home,” Utah defenseman Mikhail Sergachev said. “(The loss to the Oilers) is going to be a lesson for us, just the small details.”