Utah MammothVegas Golden KnightsNHL Stanley Cup playoffs
Utah Mammoth players high-five Vegas Golden Knights players after they lost to the Vegas Golden Knights during Game 6 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, May 1, 2026.
Utah Mammoth players high-five Vegas Golden Knights players after they lost to the Vegas Golden Knights during Game 6 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, May 1, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
Utah Mammoth right wing JJ Peterka (77) loses possession of the puck defended by Vegas Golden Knights center Nic Dowd (26) and Vegas Golden Knights right wing Cole Smith (22) during Game 6 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, May 1, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
Q&A
What was the final score of the Utah Mammoth vs. Vegas Golden Knights Game 6?
The final score was 5-1 in favor of the Vegas Golden Knights.
How many games did the Utah Mammoth lose in the playoff series against the Golden Knights?
The Utah Mammoth lost the playoff series 4-2 against the Vegas Golden Knights.
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Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart (79) blocks a shot by Utah Mammoth center Alexander Kerfoot (15) during Game 6 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, May 1, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
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Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb (3) warms up before Game 6 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Utah Mammoth at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, May 1, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
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Utah Mammoth fan Rich Bradley poses outside the Delta Center before Game 6 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, May 1, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
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Daniel Breisch holds his daughter Claire Breisch, 5, as they walk to the Delta Center before Game 6 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, May 1, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
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Utah Mammoth fans cheer during Game 6 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, May 1, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
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Utah Mammoth left wing Brandon Tanev (13) falls while skating with the puck during Game 6 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, May 1, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
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Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone (61) and Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore (27) celebrate after the Vegas Golden Knights scored a goal during Game 6 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, May 1, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
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Utah Mammoth left wing Brandon Tanev (13) reacts during Game 6 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, May 1, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
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Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart (79) blocks Utah Mammoth left wing Brandon Tanev (13) from scoring during Game 6 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, May 1, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
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Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore (27) and Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Kaedan Korczak (6) fist-bump after winning against the Utah Mammoth during Game 6 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, May 1, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
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Utah Mammoth fans leave during the third period of Game 6 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, May 1, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
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Vegas Golden Knights center Nic Dowd (26) celebrates with teammates after they won against the Utah Mammoth during Game 6 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, May 1, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
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Utah Mammoth center Kevin Stenlund (82) reacts during Game 6 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, May 1, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
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Vegas Golden Knights players celebrate after winning against the Utah Mammoth during Game 6 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, May 1, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
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Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Kaedan Korczak (6) raises his fist in the air after the Vegas Golden Knights won against the Utah Mammoth during Game 6 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, May 1, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
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Vegas Golden Knights center Nic Dowd (26) celebrates with teammates after they won against the Utah Mammoth during Game 6 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, May 1, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
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Vegas Golden Knights players celebrate after winning against the Utah Mammoth during Game 6 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, May 1, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
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A Utah Mammoth fan winces while watching the third period of Game 6 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, May 1, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
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Utah Mammoth players high-five Vegas Golden Knights players after they lost to the Vegas Golden Knights during Game 6 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, May 1, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
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Utah Mammoth goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) and Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart (79) exchange words after the Vegas Golden Knights won against the Utah Mammoth during Game 6 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, May 1, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
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Utah Mammoth center Nick Schmaltz (8) and teammates skate off the ice after losing to the Vegas Golden Knights during Game 6 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, May 1, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
Going into the season, the Mammothâs goal was simply to make the playoffs. Teams usually fail a few times before they really become playoff threats â and thatâs what Tourigny hopes to see happen.
âYour failure makes you stronger,â he said. âYou learn from it and it makes you better, but in order to make sure that happens, it has to hurt, and I donât even want to feel good about it. I want that to hurt and I want to learn from it.â
Mammoth defenseman Mikhail Sergachev, who went through this process early in his career with the Tampa Bay Lightning and now has two Stanley Cup rings to show for it, offered an explanation for his teamâs loss after the game.
â(The Golden Knights) know how to win,â he said. âThey won not a long time ago. They play well. Even though sometimes we were outplaying them, they were still in the game and they were never out of it because of their experience â and in the right moments, they put the game away.
Having been through this type of loss before, he offered words that should give Mammoth fans a world of hope.
âI believe in the future weâre going to be there â and itâs not going to be 4-2,â he said.
Tourigny and most of Utahâs players didnât feel they could give adequate analyses of the series with the emotion of the moment, but they promised to break it down more at exit interviews in the next few days.
Among the things that stand out the most, though, are:
Struggling to hold leads, especially in the third period of games.
Losing both overtime battles.
Despite their shortcomings, Golden Knights head coach John Tortorella, a veteran and a Stanley Cup champion, concluded his remarks with high praise for the Mammoth.
âThatâs a good hockey team,â he said. â⊠Thatâs a team thatâs going to be reckoned with for quite a while now, as far as some of the kids and skill and speed that they have.â
Whatâs next for the Utah Mammoth?
In a February interview with the Deseret News, Mammoth general manager Bill Armstrong detailed the next phase of the teamâs build.
âThereâs a lot of patience that goes in, you know? Most clubs that become championship clubs have to go through some pain,â he said.
âIâm not saying weâre going to be immune to that pain. I mean, youâre asking me what comes next â probably pain. Growth and pain, growth and pain."
As of this moment, the team hasnât spoken on a concrete goal for Year 3 in Utah, but donât expect management to push go all-in quite yet. As Armstrong has said more than once, their best team is ânot here yet.â
Focus now turns toward the CHL playoffs, where top Mammoth prospects Cole Beaudoin and Caleb Desnoyers are both in the Conference Finals of the OHL and QMJHL, respectively.
If either or both teams win championships, theyâll face fellow top prospect Tij Iginla for the Memorial Cup, the top prize in junior hockey.
All three of those players, along with Desnoyersâ fellow Moncton Wildcats teammate Gabe Smith, are eligible to play in the AHL next season â and itâs likely that theyâll be high on the call-up list for the NHL squad next year.
Additionally, Utahâs current NHLers have plenty of time to attend the World Championship this year. Thatâs the international tournament to which Clayton Keller captained Team USA last spring, alongside Logan Cooley.
The only thing that can give players experience is, well, experience. Tournaments like the Memorial Cup and the World Championship have the potential to accelerate the development process for Utahâs young players.
