Heading into their 1st-ever playoff series, here’s what the Utah Mammoth are focusing on

While the Golden Knights played their best hockey of the season down the stretch, the Mammoth have shown some minor struggles, losing three of their final four games and dealing with the league’s seventh-worst goaltending in that stretch, as defined by save percentage.

But you don’t get to the postseason without elite capabilities, and the Mammoth are focusing on the things that got them to this position.

“We have speed, we have depth, we have pace in our game, we have aggression, we’re good defensively, we’re a possession team offensively and so on and so forth,” Tourigny said.

He also talked about the importance of veteran players who have been through all types of situations before. One of those guys is 2025 Stanley Cup champion Nate Schmidt, who offered his advice.

“You’re not gonna go 16-0 (in the playoffs). That’s not going to happen. I don’t think it’s ever happened. I’m not an NHL historian, but I’m pretty positive it’s never happened, so you’re going to lose games. You’re gonna make mistakes,” he said.

“And once you kind of go into the game knowing that that’s going to happen, that you’re gonna make a mistake, ... you realize it’s a game that you’ve played your whole life and you should be able to have some fun with it.”

On the flip side, the Mammoth have 10 players who have yet to dress for a Stanley Cup Playoff game and three more whose only experience came in the COVID-19 bubble with no fans in the stands.

“I’m sure there’s going to be some learning moments, but at the end of the day, it’s a battle,” said Logan Cooley, who is set to make his playoff debut on Sunday.

“The playoffs are a different breed and you can expect it to be real physical, fast tempo, not a lot of room out there, so you’ve got to find ways to still create offense and make sure we’re doing it right on the defensive side, too.”

Cooley has had great individual success against the Golden Knights this season — namely a four-goal, five-point game in November.

The first game of the series is on Sunday, beginning at 8 p.m. MT. It will be aired on SEG+, Utah 16 and ESPN.

Utah Mammoth center Logan Cooley (92) celebrates after scoring against the Vegas Golden Knights during the first period of an NHL game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Nov. 24, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News