The Utah Mammoth (0-1-0) and Vegas Golden Knights (1-0-0) meet in the NHL Tuesday. Puck drop is set for 9:30 p.m. EDT at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
The Golden Knights are favored by -1.5 on the puck line, with the over/under set at 5.5 (-135o /+114u). The Golden Knights are a -155 favorite to win outright, while the Mammoth are +130 to pull off the upset.
Let's get into my Mammoth vs. Golden Knights predictions and NHL picks.
Mammoth vs. Golden Knights Odds, Pick
| Utah Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+1.5 -192 | 5.5 -135o / 114u | +130 |
| Golden Knights Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-1.5 +160 | 5.5 -135o / 114u | -155 |
- Mammoth vs. Golden Knights Spread: Golden Knights -1.5 (+160), Mammoth +1.5 (-192)
- Mammoth vs. Golden Knights Over/Under: 5.5 (-135o/+114u)
- Mammoth vs. Golden Knights Moneyline: Mammoth +130, Golden Knights -155
Mammoth vs Golden Knights Kalshi Odds
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Mammoth vs. Golden Knights Preview
Utah Mammoth
The Mammoth had some good jump early on in Game 1, and their speed and skill did seem to cause some problems early on for a slower, older Golden Knights side. Vegas stayed committed to a very physical and taxing game plan, though, while its top players really took over the game in the later stages of the matchup.
Game 1 marked the playoff debut for six skaters on Utah's roster, including key skaters Dylan Guenther, Logan Cooley and JJ Peterka. In a tough environment, it was a fairly solid playoff debut for each of those critical skaters, with Cooley's performance in particular truly standing out.
The Mammoth outshot the Knights 33 to 31 but generated fewer shots from the interior than Vegas did and ultimately generated just 2.32 expected goals. It was an encouraging performance in many regards for Utah, but a 4-2 final was seemingly a fair result on the game overall.
While Utah's second line of Cooley, Guenther and Kailer Yamamoto had a solid showing, its top line of Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz and Lawson Crouse was heavily outplayed, as may be the case for the road games in this series in which the trio is forced to play a lot of minutes versus Jack Eichel's line.
While the Keller/Schmaltz duo ultimately have the same offensive upside as the Golden Knights' top forwards, they are not at the same level in terms of overall ability to control the play and defend in their own zone.
Head coach Andre Tourigny may be wise to try and shy away from head-to-head matchups pitting the top two lines together and try to cherry-pick some soft matchups for his ultra-talented top line to create some offense, though that is no easy task in road matchups where the Golden Knights hold last change.
Making the most of their power play opportunities will be critical for the Mammoth in this series. From a general perspective, I'm high on the layout and personnel on their top unit and was surprised that Utah managed just an 18% success rate in the regular season.
The Knights were clearly dead set on imposing some physical liberties in Game 1, and to try and help mitigate that approach, the Mammoth need to make the Knights pay in the instances they do go a man short.
Particularly as Vegas is one of the better defensive teams at 5-on-5 in the league, a fact that was masked for much of the season by abhorrent goaltending.
Utah has generally been a fairly solid side defensively under Tourigny over the past two seasons and should have the defensive backbone to continue hanging around in each matchup of this series. Whether that leads to results or not could hinge on special teams play, and whether or not its top line is able to scrape out respectable production in tough head-to-head matchups.
Karel Vejmelka had a solid showing in Game 1, and it would be fair to say that each of the three goals allowed are generally never expected to be saved. He held a +6.9 GSAx and .896 save percentage in the regular season and is expected to get the start in Game 2.
Vegas Golden Knights
Head coach John Tortorella seems to have come in with exactly the right approach, after the organization opted to move on from Bruce Cassidy with just eight games left in the season.
The Knights' overall process under Cassidy still seemed to be stronger than was generally credited, and Tortorella noted on several occasions that he did not intend to change too significantly from a systematic perspective and seemingly just instilled more positivity with a different voice.
The Knights finished the regular season on a 7-0-1 run under Tortorella and, though they were not entirely dominant in Game 1, stuck with a strong physical game plan and never felt overly panicked by any means.
The Golden Knights held a 2.41 xGA/60 rating in the regular season, which was the second best mark in the NHL. Their trio of goaltenders played to a save percentage of just .879, which was the single greatest reason for their lackluster point total, though they did still manage to win an ultra-soft Pacific Division.
In his final six regular season starts Carter Hart played to a .930 save percentage and a 1.66 GAA and had a strong showing in Game 1. Hart had shown some high upside early on in his career, which was the reason Vegas made the controversial decision to bring in the 27-year-old.
While Hart is far from the most proven starter in goal, there really aren't many full-fledged starters that are seemingly a lock to either choke or play exceptionally this postseason, and it's certainly not out of the realm of possibility that he can play at a high enough level for the Knights to go on a run, just as Adin Hill did when he carried the team to a Stanley Cup Championship out of the blue.
Mammoth vs. Golden Knights Prediction
The Mammoth have to be pleased with the way they competed in Game 1, even if a more proven and physical Knights side was able to slowly get to their game and earn a deserving win. Aside from their top line, which really struggled in tough matchups, Utah hung in quite respectably at even strength but lost the special teams battle, while Hart was sharp in goal.
Utah did not appear to be far away from the Knights in Game 1 by any means, and a few slight adjustments and/or narratives breaking its way could easily lead to a better result.
Keller and Schmaltz are capable of authoring better showings, and the Mammoth power play has the upside to do some damage if the Knights continue to try and take liberties.
At +130, there looks to be more value in backing Utah to steal Game 2, and hoping Tourigny's young lineup can build on what was a reasonably encouraging performance on the road in Game 1.
Pick: Mammoth Moneyline +130 (Play to +120)
