Top-Heavy Mammoth Sinking Quickly in Central Division

The Utah Mammoth stormed out of the gate to begin the season, making an early case to be a playoff contender. With a young core rising and still reaching their potential, the Mammoth jumped to an 8-3 record in their first 11 games. Since then, they've gone 2-5-3 to drop them out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference.

The biggest issue plaguing the Mammoth is their lack of depth scoring. The team's forward group is incredibly top-heavy, so when they don't score in a contest, the Mammoth often go down. Playing in the jam-packed Western Conference, the Mammoth are sinking quickly if they can't get more production from their bottom-six forward group.

Veterans Falling Short

The Mammoth have one of the most exciting top-six forward groups in the NHL, headlined by Logan Cooley, JJ Peterka, Dylan Guenther, Nick Schmaltz and captain Clayton Keller. The quintet leads the team in scoring by a considerable margin.

Behind them, however, the offense evaporates almost instantly. After Peterka's 15 points in 21 games, the next-highest-scoring forward is rugged winger Lawson Crouse, with 4 goals and 8 points in 21 games.

Not only that, but the key veterans they count on to provide two-way effectiveness are not holding up their end of the bargain. Brandon Tanev, a speedy and gritty bottom-line winger, has zero goals and a single assist in 21 games. Jack McBain, the 25-year-old third-line center in the first year of a five-year deal paying him $4.25 million, has just one goal and three assists while playing over 13 minutes of ice time per contest. That stat line is mirrored by penalty-killer and pest Kevin Stenlund.

Outside of Crouse's production and Michael Carcone scoring three goals and six points, no other player in the bottom half of average ice time has more than two goals and three points. It's simply not enough to propel the Mammoth forward. The bottom-six scoring is becoming a larger drain on the team as the season progresses.

Hockey player controls the puc — Nov 18, 2025; San Jose, California, USA; Utah Mammoth center Kevin Stenlund (82) controls the puck during the third period against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images | Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images

Two-Way Struggles

The offensive production, or lack thereof, would be tolerable if the bottom-six was a shut down defensive group. The problem with that, however, is that the Mammoth are not an impressive defensive team this year.

The Mammoth are currently sporting a negative goal differential, scoring 63 total goals but allowing 65 through 21 games. Their total goals allowed is the 15th-highest in the league, and their average of 3.10 goals allowed per game ranks 19th, putting them in the bottom half of all teams this season.

The only saving grace is that their penalty killing group is succeeding. Sporting a success rate of 82.8%, they have the ninth-best penalty killing unit in the NHL. That's thanks to the work players like McBain, Stenlund and Tanev put in.

That defensive performance has to translate to five-on-five play, however. Until it does, the top-heavy Mammoth are a team desperately in need of balance. If they can't find that balance, their tough stretch could turn into a season-sinking skid.

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