Two teams in the hunt for the Stanley Cup playoffs and in need of a victory will meet in Salt Lake City Saturday night when the Utah Mammoth host the Pittsburgh Penguins.
If the season ended today, both teams would make the postseason. However, the Mammoth have dropped their last three contests (0-1-2), including a 3-2 overtime loss at home Thursday to the Chicago Blackhawks, and the Penguins, who fell 6-2 to the Vegas Golden Knights Thursday, enter Saturday’s game with a two-game skid and a 1-3-2 mark in their last six.
Defenseman Ryan Shea, who assisted on both Penguins goals Thursday, said after the setback that it was nice to have “a quick turnaround” after the loss in Las Vegas.
“We need to move on quick, because Utah is a great team, and then, after that, we got two other great teams,” said Shea, noting that the Penguins will end their five-game road trip with visits to Colorado and Carolina next week. “We’re pretty much in the playoff hunt, and that’s got to be our mindset every game. … We got to come away with points in the next three games.”
Pittsburgh will come to Utah without Sidney Crosby. The captain, who leads the Penguins with 27 goals and 59 points in 56 games, has not played since the Olympic break ended.
DK Pittsburgh Sports reported late Thursday that Crosby, 38, suffered an MCL sprain while representing Team Canada in last month’s Winter Olympics. That information came from Vegas forward Mitch Marner, Crosby’s Olympic teammate.
In Crosby’s absence, forward Bryan Rust (23 goals, 27 assists) has points in seven of his last eight games (four goals, six assists). Anthony Mantha (24 goals, 25 assists) has three goals and a helper in his last three games.
The Mammoth have lost three straight, but thanks to a pair of 3-2 overtime losses to the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday and Thursday, they at least picked up a couple of points around a 5-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild.
While Utah coach Andre Tourigny liked a lot of what he saw from his team Thursday, he told reporters after the loss that he understands the bottom line.
“We’re in that stage where we need to find a way to get two points, no doubt,” he said.
Dylan Guenther scored his 31st goal in Thursday’s loss to set the two-year franchise’s record for most goals in a season. The 22-year-old has had at least a point in five of his last six games (four goals, three assists).
Defenseman Mikhail Sergachev returned Thursday after missing four games due to a lower-body issue. He assisted on Guenther’s goal, giving him points in four of his five games since the break.
Saturday’s game will feature one of the league’s best penalty-killing teams facing a power-play unit that has struggled. Utah has the seventh-worst power play, converting on 16.6% of its chances. The Mammoth are also tied for the third-fewest goals, 30, with the man advantage.
At 84.5%, Pittsburgh is the league’s second-best penalty-killing team.
