Perhaps one day the Mammoth will look back on playing the Golden Knights as the perfect building block.
Vegas has won 66 games and 13 series in the playoffs since entering the NHL as an expansion team in 2017-18, tying Tampa Bay for first in the NHL in both categories in that span, at least for the moment. The Lightning play the Montreal Canadiens in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference First Round on Sunday.
“We’re a younger team,” Sergachev said. “It took us a lot to get here, and we saw what it takes to win a series. They showed us, and they played well. They’re a great team. You saw it. In the tight moments, they prevailed, and they scored at the right moments.”
Crouse echoed that.
“Obviously, we have some things to learn, closing out games,” he said. “But Vegas, they’re a great hockey team. They’re a veteran hockey team. They’ve won previously. They know what it takes to win. They know how to win games and close them out. That’s something we can learn from.”
This still just the beginning in Utah.
This was the first season the team was known as the Utah Mammoth, after one season as the Utah Hockey Club. This was the first season with a new, palatial practice facility. Delta Center was only two phases into an ongoing renovation.
The Mammoth have young talent with more on the way.
“I believe so much in this group and the guys that we have, the character and the guys that love coming to the rink and getting better every single day,” Keller said. “It’s so fun to come to the rink with these guys.
“I’m definitely super excited about the future. We’re only going to get better. This (stinks), but we’ll learn from it. We’ll break it down, and next time we’re in this situation next year, we’ll get over the hump.”
But for now, they’ve got to feel the pain — the growing pains.
“What we’re going through tonight, it’s important for our future,” Tourigny said. “It’s really important. You need to let it hurt. You need to let it bleed a little bit. It has to hurt, because that will be the fuel for tomorrow to bounce back and find a way to be better and to get to the next step.”