Dylan Guenther entered the media scrum ready for questions about his latest game-winner. After all, when you score as many as Guenther does — already with two overtime winners this season [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/utah/latest-news/dylan-guenther-is-already-getting-game-winners-again-for-utah-mammoth] — it starts to feel like a regular occurrence. So what did Guenther say when Utah rookie Dmitriy Simashev unexpectedly joined the scrum and asked what he thought about the last goal? "I think it was a good one. I think the pass was a little soft from behind me, but maybe if you were out there, you would have put it...," Guenther said to Simashev. Keep in mind, Simashev cut him off before he could finish his answer to ask Guenther what he thought about No. 26’s (Simashev’s) performance. It was Simashev’s first time joining the Utah Mammoth media scrum, so cut him some slack for the impromptu questions — he’s earned it after the strong performances he’s delivered game in and game out. Even if the pass from Clayton Keller was a bit behind, Guenther made it work, pulling off an incredible goal to give Utah a 4-3 overtime win over a scorching-hot Colorado team. Not only did Utah do that, but it also redeemed its 2-1 season-opening loss in Colorado. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/utah/latest-news/scott-wedgewood-stays-strong-utah-mammoth-lose-2-1-to-avalanche] And don’t forget, the way the Avalanche even forced overtime was incredible in itself, with Martin Necas hitting a nasty trick shot as time wound down. Necas didn’t even give Colorado goalie Scott Wedgewood a chance to leave the ice for an extra attacker. He willed the goal in, despite Karel Vejmelka sealing off the entire left corner of the net with his whole body. "It was an unreal play, obviously, picks it up and just rips it," said Colorado's Cale Makar. "So damn, that's a well scored goal, and we're lucky to have him." But there wasn’t much Vejmelka could have done to prevent the puck from precisely deflecting off his helmet. It was simply both an impressive and lucky play that tied the game 3-3 and forced overtime. Instead of letting a play as unexpected as Necas’ fluster the team, Utah made quick work in overtime, scoring the game-winner on its first shot attempt and handing Colorado its second overtime loss of the season. “It's a measuring stick for us. They're one of the best teams in the league," said Sergachev. "They're showing it every year. They're consistent. Their best players are consistent. We want to be that and we want to grow into that. Obviously, it's nice to get a win, but it's got to be on a consistent basis." Along with assisting on Guenther’s game-winner, Sergachev had an impressive night — scoring his first goal of the season with an unassisted slap shot and notching another assist on Utah’s first goal. Stunningly, Sergachev's goal was the first scored by any of Utah's defensemen across three games, though John Marino nearly beat him with a second-period goal that was called back for goalie interference. With Sergachev leading a Mammoth defense that was tied with the Jets for fourth-fewest goals allowed at 2.17 heading into this game, he was more than deserving of a goal. But he won’t be the one to prematurely celebrate. "We don't want to feel good. We want to improve every game," said Sergachev. "There are still a lot of areas where we should improve, especially in that third. When they pushed, we should do a better job of not letting them get in our zone and try to play in their zone a little bit more. Obviously, they got world-class players, but we've got to try to limit chances.” It’s certainly encouraging to hear Sergachev talk about the improvements the Mammoth can make, even after such an electric game against an opponent as strong as the Avalanche. But that kind of focus will be needed throughout the season as Utah looks to become a playoff-caliber team. Being 5-2 and undefeated across a four-game homestand is impressive, but there’s still a lot this Utah team has to prove. Still, notching a win over Colorado should certainly get more people paying attention to the Mammoth. LAWSON CROUSE GETS A GOAL Playing without linemate Jack McBain, who left the game in the second period with an upper-body injury, Crouse had no problem playing alongside Kevin Stenlund more frequently. And who would, after receiving a pass as nice as the one Stenlund delivered to Crouse on his goal? While losing McBain to a long-term injury would be a big blow, it’s still encouraging to see that Utah maintains strong chemistry, even when players aren't skating with their usual linemates. But with McBain skating off under his own power and being listed as questionable to return by the team mid-game, there’s hope the injury won’t keep him off the ice for long. THREE CONSECUTIVE POWER PLAY GOALS! Utah may be only 4-for-27 on the power play, but it's hard to ignore the fact that the team had three consecutive games with power-play goals. Better yet, it was Nick Schmaltz who got the goal for the team. If we look just at Utah's last three games, it has converted around 27.3% of its power plays, which would be the sixth-best rate in the league. Plus, the Mammoth have tried to feed Schmaltz on the man advantage all year, so for him to finally get his own goal has got to be a sigh of relief. Now, Utah can focus less on scoring on the power play and more on trying to draw them more frequently. It is certainly a much better position to be in. But now that Utah will go on the road for eight of its next nine games, starting with the St. Louis Blues on Thursday, Oct. 24, the Mammoth will need to learn how to replicate the success it had at home — especially with seven of its road opponents being playoff teams from last season.
