headtopics
In a Saturday night matchup at KeyBank Center, the Utah Mammoth skated away with a 4-1 win against the Buffalo Sabres. John Marino, Anders Lee, and Kailer Yamamoto each recorded a goal and an assist to power the offense, while Nick Schmaltz also found the back of the net and Barrett Hayton chipped in with two assists.
Karel Vejmelka turned aside 23 shots to earn the victory, helping the Mammoth recover from a 6-1 defeat in Boston on Thursday. The win marked Utah's third triumph on a five-game road trip. For Buffalo, Tage Thompson scored the lone goal, and Colten Ellis made 26 saves in a losing effort.
Key Analysis
The Mammoth's special teams played a pivotal role, as Schmaltz and Lee scored 2:01 apart late in the second period to break the game open. Schmaltz's goal, his sixth in as many games this season, came on the power play, and Marino added another with the man advantage early in the third. Utah now leads the NHL with 10 power-play goals on 25 opportunities, while Buffalo continues to struggle, converting just 1 of 18. Yamamoto, in his season debut, tied the game in the first period after Thompson had given the Sabres an early lead with their first power-play goal of the season.
Yamamoto drew into the lineup in place of Michael Carcone, who is sidelined week to week with an upper-body injury. The Mammoth will return home to face Toronto on Tuesday, while the Sabres wrap up a five-game homestand against Florida on Monday.
Originally reported by headtopics.