Dmitri Simashev scored twice, including the overtime winner 1:44 into the extra period, as the Utah Mammoth beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-4 on Saturday at Delta Center. The Mammoth erased a two-goal first-period deficit and improved to 8-4-0 on the season.
Simashev’s winner came on a wrist shot assisted by Barrett Hayton and Karel Vejmelka. The Lightning fell to 7-3-1 after jumping out to a 3-1 first-period lead. Pontus Holmberg scored for Tampa Bay, while Erik Cernak added an assist.
Key Moments: How Utah Mammoth Beat The Lightning 5-4
Tampa Bay came out fast, scoring three times in the first period. Jake Guentzel opened the scoring at 5:10. Kailer Yamamoto tied it 1-1 at 7:02 with a wrist shot.
Pontus Holmberg gave Tampa Bay the lead back at 10:06, assisted by Erik Cernak and Ryan McDonagh. Brayden Point made it 3-1 at 12:42 on a backhand set up by Nikita Kucherov and Charle-Edouard D’Astous. Dylan Guenther cut the deficit to 3-2 at 17:39 with a slap shot, assisted by Mikhail Sergachev and Clayton Keller.Astous.
Utah answered each time. Kailer Yamamoto’s wrist shot cut the deficit to 3-2 at 17:39 on a slap shot from Dylan Guenther, assisted by Mikhail Sergachev and Clayton Keller. Tampa Bay pushed the lead back to two in the second period when Conor Geekie scored at 5:32, but the Mammoth closed the final 20 minutes of regulation on a 2-0 run. Anders Lee tipped in a Weegar-Trocheck feed at 14:39, and Simashev tied it 4-4 at 17:02 on a snap shot assisted by Andrew Peeke and Vincent Trocheck, forcing overtime before his game winner.
Top Performers
Simashev finished with two goals, the game’s top scoring total, while Vincent Trocheck recorded two assists to lead Utah’s playmakers. Karel Vejmelka made 29 saves on 32 shots for a .906 save percentage in the win. MacKenzie Weegar logged a game-high 25:20 of ice time to go with six hits and an assist.
For Tampa Bay, Dennis Hildeby stopped 23 of 28 shots for an .821 save percentage.
What It Means
The win pushed Utah to 16 points and into a tie atop the Central Division with Minnesota. Tampa Bay remains fourth in the Atlantic Division at 15 points, three behind division-leading Boston. Utah also took a 1-0 lead in the season series between the two clubs.
Special teams were even, with each team converting once on three power-play chances for a 33.3% success rate. Utah dominated the faceoff circle, winning 45 draws to a 60.8% clip compared to Tampa Bay’s 39.2%, a edge that helped the Mammoth control extended stretches of play despite being outshot 32-28.
What’s Next
Utah continues at home. Tampa Bay will look to tighten its defense after allowing five goals on 28 shots.
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