The Mammoth may be more of a Cup contender than we think
The Utah Mammoth just keep winning games and racking up points in the standings.
After a hard-fought win in Buffalo on Tuesday night, the Mammoth are now 9-4-0 on the young season. They’re tied for the NHL lead with nine wins, and they’re only tied for second in the Central Division because the Avalanche have racked up five extra points from overtime and shootout losses.
Utah was a popular pick to go from outside the postseason last year to making the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year, and they’re more than making good on that optimism. With a complete roster and potent top six, is there more of an upside than just getting into the dance?
On Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, host Tyler Yaremchuk and co-host and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton discussed whether the Mammoth are more or less of a legitimate Cup contender than one of their red-hot counterparts in the Eastern Conference, the Montreal Canadiens.
Tyler Yaremchuk: From the bottom to the top. The Montreal Canadiens had a great comeback last night… they have points in 10 of 13. They are first in the East, and then you go out West, nine wins on the year for the Utah Mammoth, tied for the most in the Western Conference… I’m going to ask you a pick ’em question, Hutts, the Habs or the Mammoth… who are you maybe buying a bit more Stanley Cup stock on?
Carter Hutton: This is a tough pick for me. I think both teams are ready to continue to grow, to continue to get better… but for me, I’m going to go with the Utah Mammoth as a team I’m going to buy on. I just think they’re ready with their maturity. That extra depth that they have… some guys that have a little more leg in their game. It’s been a great story, you look at Nick Schmaltz finding the back of the net last night, and I think that their game is a little more versatile. You go into Buffalo last night, who’s a desperate hockey team… and they just play a shutdown game. They were the better team… I just see them more as a complete hockey team than I do the Montreal Canadiens, Ty.
You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…