Thin Ice

The Mammoth finished the five-game road trip at 3-2, a decent return, and came home to face an Original Six opponent in Toronto.

A quick look back at the trip. First up was Columbus, where the power play carried us home. Next came the Rangers on the back end of a back-to-back. Tired legs, maybe — we fell behind, we struggled in the neutral-zone battles, but we never stopped competing. Then, pushing a little too hard to get level, we gave up another one and lost it. After that, a strong New Jersey side. Their skill and speed gave us trouble, but the third and fourth lines kept hitting, the power play kept producing, and we held on to win. Then Boston. A strange game. The scoreline says 1-6, a blowout, and yet we were ahead on shots, on faceoffs and on power play chances — seven for the Mammoth, four for the Bruins. They scored three on those four, with Pastrnak taking the penalty kill we’d been so proud of and tearing it to pieces. We outshot them 37-22; they out-blocked us 6-23. It was simply a night where nothing would go in. How a team answers a beating like that is where you find out what it’s made of, and against the Sabres we came all the way back. For that game the lines, fixed until then, were shuffled in a big way.
The first line went back to last season’s trio: Keller - Schmaltz - Crouse. Trocheck came off it to center the second: Cooley - Trocheck - Guenther. On the third, with Carcone hurt, in came Yamamoto, that super-utility player, and Lee dropped down to join him: Lee - Hayton - Yamamoto. The fourth stayed as before: McBain - Stenlund - But. The changes hit straight away. The third line in particular came alive, with Lee, Yamamoto and Hayton each putting up two points. Yamamoto was like this last season too — however limited his minutes, when he plays, he produces. What makes him so valuable is that he can slot into the top six or the bottom six, which is a wonderful thing for a team to have.
A winning record on the trip, no losing streaks, and above all a group that never stopped competing. That, to me, is growth from last year.

So, to the main event: Toronto. The lines were left alone, riding the momentum from the last game. I want to see Cooley’s first goal. That line still hasn’t scored at even strength. This second line is the one carrying the future of this franchise. Come on, boys, find your form already!

Well. That was a hard watch. Up 5-2 after two periods and playing well, I made the mistake of thinking I could relax and enjoy the rest. In the third, a Trocheck penalty led to a power play goal: 5-3. Bad feeling. Then, with about nine minutes left, the number one pick, that superstar rookie Gavin McKenna, buried one: 5-4. From there it was all defending.
Toronto pulled the goalie with about three minutes left to go 6-on-5. And then, inside the final two minutes, Guenther takes a penalty. Hey! Come on! That’s your third one tonight! You’re killing us, man! On top of that there was a too-many-men call earlier in the game, and Gunner was the one who went to the box for that as well, so he spent eight minutes in there tonight. That is not your spot, pal!

At the end there was nothing left to do but pray. Six-on-four, after all. Honestly, they could have scored at any moment. The puck bounced our way in ways that felt like the hockey gods having a laugh, their shots slid just wide, and somehow we got out of it. A game that worked out in spite of itself. Close. Far too close.

At the other end, there were some beautiful goals tonight. First was But’s. A gorgeous pass from McBain along the boards, But breaking away with it, picking up speed and firing. Boom! A thrilling goal. The second was Trocheck. Cooley came in on a breakaway, held the defender until the last possible instant, and slid it across. All Trocheck had to do was hammer it home. The second line’s first even strength goal came from the Pittsburgh connection. The third was our first shorthanded goal of the season. The fourth was the showpiece. That’s a sniper for you — a long-range snipe of the “wait, you’re taking that?” variety. The fifth came off gorgeous puck movement from the first line and finished with Weegar. Boom! Weegar had three hits and four blocks battling in his own end, so consider it a reward. And every goal tonight came at even strength or tougher. One shorthanded, none on the power play.

Still, taking penalties against a team with a forward group as frightening as Toronto’s will get you killed. Five penalties tonight, two goals against. The three we did kill were genuinely dangerous too.
Next up is two straight against Edmonton. Their offense is absurd. Twenty-nine goals in six games. That’s 4.83 a night. We’re doing pretty well ourselves: 27 in seven, 3.85 a night. McDavid isn’t human. Bouchard is a defenseman with six goals, which is ridiculous. And they’re undefeated on the road. You cannot take penalties against a team like that. For the Edmonton back-to-back: discipline. That’s the whole thing. Speed and pressure, with discipline. Please.

We’ve played more games than the teams around us, so take it with a grain of salt — but we’re top of the Central right now! Seeing our name at the top of the list feels good.

Guenther Goal Counter: 46 to go until 50!