Mammoth Get Humiliated in 6-1 Beatdown by Bruins

The Utah Mammoth arrived at TD Garden with one of the NHL’s most dangerous power plays and left with a performance they’ll want to forget as quickly as possible.

Boston handed Utah a brutal 6-1 loss Thursday night, turning a competitive early stretch into a one-sided affair with a relentless offensive attack and a special-teams performance the Mammoth had no answer for.

The defeat was a major stumble for a Utah team that had opened the season with encouraging results. The Mammoth entered the night at 3-1-0, with their power play converting at a league-best 61.5 percent. By the final horn, that strength had become one of their biggest weaknesses, as Utah failed to score on seven opportunities with the man advantage.

Boston, meanwhile, found its rhythm at exactly the right time. David Pastrnak recorded two power-play goals and two assists, while Morgan Geekie contributed a goal and two assists. Jeremy Swayman turned aside 36 shots, frustrating Utah throughout the night.

The Mammoth's problems began midway through the first period. Casey Mittelstadt opened the scoring at 10:06, beating Sebastian Cossa from the left circle. Pastrnak added a power-play goal just over four minutes later, and Mason Lohrei made it 3-0 before the period ended. After Lohrei's goal, Utah pulled Cossa and sent Karel Vejmelka into the net.

The change in goal did little to slow Boston's momentum.

Pastrnak struck again early in the second period, finishing a cross-ice feed from Geekie to extend the lead to four. Geekie then scored on another power play before Matthew Poitras put Boston up 6-0 with a goal off a Pastrnak setup.

With the Bruins finding openings seemingly at will, Utah had no realistic path back into the game. The Mammoth struggled to generate consistent offensive pressure and couldn't make Boston pay for its penalties, while their own defensive lapses continued to create problems.

The matchup also marked a stunning reversal for the two teams' special-teams units. Utah had entered Thursday with eight power-play goals on 13 chances, but Boston shut down all seven Mammoth opportunities. The Bruins, who had yet to score on the power play through their first four games, converted three times in four chances.

Jack McBain finally got Utah on the board at 9:48 of the third period, redirecting the puck past Swayman for his first point of the season. The goal ended the shutout bid, but the Mammoth were unable to build on it as Boston comfortably closed out the game.

For Pastrnak, the four-point night carried additional significance. His second goal brought his career total with Boston to 422, tying Brad Marchand for fourth place on the Bruins' all-time scoring list. The two goals were also Pastrnak's first of the season and his first since taking over as Boston's captain.

Utah head coach Andre Tourigny acknowledged the Mammoth's missed opportunities and the impact of Boston's early scoring when he spoke to reporters post-game.

“Obviously a tough night,” Tourigny said. “Actually, we had a good start. We had the puck deep and had a few scoring chances, but they capitalized early on their chances and from there it was tough for us to come back. Their goalie played well, and obviously our special teams were really good from the start of the season for us, but that was not the case tonight. They won that battle and that’s what tipped the scale.”

The Mammoth now have to regroup quickly, with a road matchup against the Buffalo Sabres coming Saturday. Thursday's loss exposed serious issues that need immediate attention, particularly on special teams and in defensive coverage.

Utah has shown enough in the early season to suggest this result doesn't define the team, but the response will matter. After being thoroughly outplayed in Boston, the Mammoth need to prove they can put this performance behind them and return to the form that made their opening stretch so promising.