The Utah Mammoth were riding high two weeks ago, as they picked up their seventh straight win to improve to 8-2-0 on the season. But it’s been a bumpy ride since, dropping four of their past five games.
The Mammoth will try to get back on track when they close out their four-game road trip with a visit to the Ottawa Senators on Sunday.
Utah is coming off a 6-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, a contest in which the Mammoth held a 2-1 lead early in the second period. Montreal scored twice in the second period to take the lead and added three more in the final 6 1/2 minutes of the third to pull away.
“I don’t think the result is reflective of what happened on the ice,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. “(The Canadiens are) a good team, they (executed), and they were really opportunistic in their opportunity early in the game. I think that changed the outcome. I like a lot of stuff we did for the first 50 minutes.”
The Mammoth allowed more than three goals in a game only once through their first 10 games and yielded more than two only four times. They’ve given up at least four goals in each of their past four losses, including at least five in three of those contests.
“I think that’s a message for our group,” forward Lawson Crouse said. “It can go quick in this league if you’re not on your details. And at the end of the day, we’ve got find a way to start coming out with some wins here.”
The offense has dropped off of late. Utah scored 32 goals during its winning streak, connecting for at least three goals in each victory. The team has managed just 12 goals over the past five games.
“A little bit frustrated,” Crouse said. “Frustrated in the sense that we’re all competitors in that locker room and we demand a lot out of ourselves. Quick reset here, it’s time to move on to Ottawa. It’s a big way to end our trip. Either go .500 or not, so we need to be ready to go (on Sunday).”
The Senators enter the contest looking to win their second straight game after a 3-2 triumph in overtime against the host Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday afternoon. They scored twice in a 65-second stretch of the first period to take a 2-0 lead before Philadelphia tallied in the second and third periods to force the extra frame.
“We found a way to get two points,” Senators coach Travis Green said. “It wasn’t one of those games where there was a lot of offense either way, but it was nice to get the win.”
Ottawa has come around after starting the season 1-3-0, going 6-2-3 since. The Senators have won five of their past eight games and are riding a four-game point streak (2-0-2).
“(The win) is huge; (it) builds our confidence a little bit,” forward Michael Amadio said.
Tim Stutzle scored twice against the Flyers, including the overtime goal, to give him eight on the season and tying him with Shane Pinto for the team lead.
Sunday’s tilt kicks off a four-game homestand for the Senators, who are 4-2-1 as the hosts.
