’Twas the last night at Delta Center, and the Utah Mammoth played Winnipeg on the Sabbath. Not a player was scoring — except Clayton Keller, whose overtime goal was so good it even surprised Tusky the Mammoth. Coming away with a 4-3 overtime win against the Winnipeg Jets, Keller and the Utah Mammoth delivered the best gift a Mammoth fan could ask for — an exciting overtime win at home ahead of the Christmas break. But perhaps Dylan Guenther was the one who gave the best gift during this game, as he opted to give the puck up to Keller rather than take a shot of his own despite it having an open look. "Me and Gunner [Guenther] actually chatted before overtime started," said Keller. "He was like, let's come with a lot of speed and, you know, I think that was something that was in my head as I came on the ice." Additionally, Guenther gave Keller a new record, as he recorded the fastest goal in Utah Mammoth history, scoring just 13 seconds into overtime and overtaking Lawson Crouse’s previous mark of 16 seconds against the Kraken on April 8. Knowing Guenther’s success — he has scored a game-winning goal in 19 of his 186 NHL games — it would have come as no surprise if he elected to shoot the puck himself. He was coming in with plenty of speed on a 2-on-1 and was in a great position to shoot. That’s just it, though. Everyone in the stands, Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck and maybe even the Utah bench was thinking Guenther would take the shot. So rather than trying to add another overtime game-winner under his belt — specifically his fourth of the season had he scored the goal— Guenther made the smart play and passed the puck to a wide-open Keller. "You cannot teach that. You just make the right play," said André Tourigny. "If we will have odds to know 'Does he shoot that puck?,' the entire building will have said he will have [shot] it. The goalie probably thought the same. That's why he passed it." It may have looked a bit different for Guenther, but the result was the same: The Utah Mammoth got a win, thanks in part to his play. Guenther is sure to be happy adding an overtime game-winning assist to his résumé, especially if it meant giving his captain a game-winner of his own. It is the season of giving, after all. HOW THE GRINCH ALMOST STOLE CHRISTMAS No lead is safe in the NHL, and Utah knows that very well thanks to its last overtime win — a 5-4 victory against the Penguins in which Utah came back from three goals down. Fittingly, Guenther scored the overtime goal in that game. But in this game, it was Winnipeg fighting for a comeback, not the Mammoth. Down 3-0 just three minutes into the second period, the Jets were struggling to keep the Mammoth away from their own net. Every attempt to clear the puck was met by a Utah player’s stick jarring it loose, leading to long shifts in the offensive zone and even a couple of goals going the Mammoth's way. To make matters worse, three of Utah’s four lines found themselves getting the puck into the back of the net, including fourth-liner Alexander Kerfoot, who scored in just his second game back from injury after missing Utah's first 36 games. The Mammoth were scoring at will, and it didn’t matter who was on the ice. But just as things were beginning to look bleak, the Jets dug deeper and began to play harder. At first, it started with just a couple of hard hits when Utah entered its offensive zone. Rather than letting Utah make any pass it wanted, Winnipeg upped its physicality and forced Utah to endure big hits. It was a small change, but it showed the Jets were done allowing the Mammoth easy access to the net. Thanks to that physicality, Winnipeg eventually generated some offense of its own and drew a Utah penalty, with Kyle Connor scoring on the power play. The Jets had a long way to go, but they were able to cut Utah’s lead to 3-1 entering the third period and gained a bit of momentum. Though Utah played good defense for most of the third, Winnipeg struck, scoring two goals in just 25 seconds to tie the game 3-3, prompting a timeout from Tourigny. While Keller eventually won the game for the Mammoth in overtime, it still allowed a division rival, fighting for a playoff spot, to snag a point it shouldn't have had. "I think our third (period) there is obviously not great," said Keller. "We still have to make plays, even if we're winning. Whatever the score is, they're gonna make a push. That's something that we've talked about and tried to get better at... I think that's something that we have to learn from and do moving forward." But just like the Whos down in Whoville, Utah will still celebrate the win at the end of the day, even if it comes in overtime and the Grinch has already stolen the last can of Who hash. A STOCKING STUFFER FOR KERFOOT Are we sure Alexander Kerfoot has only played two games for the Mammoth? Because his performance against the Jets showed no signs of rust. Already, in just his second game, Kerfoot’s time on ice has gone drastically up — from 8:14 against New Jersey the game prior to 13:49 — and he certainly deserves it if he’s going to keep scoring goals on the fourth line. "He’s such a great player. He can play anywhere in the lineup. He’s a great leader, someone that we missed when he was out. Just all the little things that he does on the bench, during the game, in the locker room. I can’t say enough great things about Kerf and how good of a person he is and player as well," said Keller. "It's awesome getting him back. We definitely have had more juice since he's been back." Considering how much the Mammoth relied on Kerfoot last year when dealing with injuries, it makes sense that Utah immediately had chemistry with him. But in addition to his chemistry, Kerfoot is invaluable for Utah’s penalty kill. Against the Jets, he was already back to his disruptive ways, blocking shots and sending pucks back to Hellebuyck throughout the game. The Mammoth were already the sixth-best penalty-kill unit in the league, killing 83% of opponent power plays before his return to the lineup. Imagine what Utah will be able to do now that he’s back in the lineup.
