The Utah Mammoth will take the next crack at slowing New York Islanders rookie Matthew Schaefer when the teams clash on Friday in Salt Lake City.
New York won its third game in a row when Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored a short-handed goal at 3:02 of overtime for a 4-3 victory against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday in Las Vegas. It was the Islanders’ second straight overtime triumph.
The Mammoth snapped a three-game losing streak on Wednesday, rallying from a 2-0 deficit for a 5-2 win over the visiting Buffalo Sabres.
In New York’s win over the Golden Knights, Schaefer had a goal and an assist.
Schaefer, the first overall pick in this year’s draft, has 14 points (six goals, eight assists) through 17 games. He passed Bobby Orr (13 points in 19 games) for the third-most points by an 18-year-old defenseman prior to his 20th career game, tying Ray Bourque (14 points in 19 games) and trailing only Phil Housley (16 points in 19 games), according to NHL.com.
Mathew Barzal scored the tying goal for New York with 2:37 left in regulation as the Islanders improved to 3-0-0 on their seven-game road trip despite squandering a 2-0 lead.
“We definitely didn’t stop fighting,” Schaefer said. “I mean, I just think from the start, we started out hot. I think we were a better team. I mean, Sorokin made a lot of big saves for us, so when you have a goalie like that, it definitely helps.”
Emil Heineman also scored for the Islanders, while Bo Horvat logged two assists to extend his point streak to seven games (six goals, five assists). Ilya Sorokin made 26 saves, including three in overtime.
New York goalie David Rittich, 3-2-0 with a 3.41 goals-against average and an .886 save percentage, is expected to make his sixth start of the season for the Islanders.
JJ Peterka, Nick Schmaltz and Clayton Keller each had a goal and an assist on Wednesday for the Mammoth, and Karel Vejmelka made 17 saves.
Utah placed 11 men on the scoresheet including four defensemen. Mammoth blueliners have contributed 37 points this season.
“We’ve talked a lot about us trying to get more active and get to the middle and get pucks on net,” said defenseman Nick DeSimone, who scored his first goal of the season in the Buffalo game. “Reward our forwards for going to the net and taking crosschecks. We’re trying to do our part to get pucks there and let our forwards start digging down there.”
The Mammoth escaped a two-goal hole en route to a win for the first time this season, completing their sixth come-from-behind victory overall.
Utah scored four goals in the third period while holding the Sabres to just three shots on goal.
“One thing our team is really good at is defending,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. “We defend with a lot of pace, and we force opponents to execute quickly. That is a strength of (ours).”
The Mammoth are 5-1-0 at home this season.
Vejmelka is 2-2 with a 2.02 GAA and a .931 save percentage in his career versus the Islanders.
The teams split two meetings last season with the Islanders winning 2-1 in Salt Lake City on Jan. 11 after Utah won 5-4 on Long Island on Oct. 10, 2024.
