On Jan. 26, 2023, Nick Schmaltz’ grandfather went to Arizona to watch his grandson play for the first time. Schmaltz scored his first-ever hat trick, plus an assist, that night in the Coyotes’ 5-0 win over the St. Louis Blues.

On Friday, his grandfather came to Utah to watch him for the second time. Grandfather must be a lucky charm because Schmaltz scored his second career hat trick, plus an assist, in the Mammoth’s 6-3 win over the San Jose Sharks.

Heading into this four-game home stand, the Mammoth were 1-2-0. Two games into it, they’re a much better 3-2-0.

Quick catchup

Utah Mammoth: 6

San Jose Sharks: 3

Believe it or not, the game started with a Schmaltz scoring chance that he just missed, sliding the puck through the crease and out. Had it gone in, he would have finished his hat trick in the first period.

Logan Cooley had a similar miss in the first minute, too, but the Mammoth didn’t let the squandered opportunities get them down. Before the end of the frame, Schmaltz had his first two goals.

The Sharks tied it up with a pair of quick goals in the second period, but the Mammoth proved their resilience again, retaking the lead with four minutes left in the period.

It was Liam “Spicy Tuna” O’Brien who put the Mammoth on top. It was his first goal since April 17, 2024 — the final game of the Arizona Coyotes’ existence.

It would have been the game-winner, too, if Macklin Celebrini hadn’t scored on the power play with three minutes left in the game.

The third period consisted of three Mammoth goals and one from the Sharks, further solidifying the home team’s lead and the home crowd’s jubilation.

When the clock hit 30 seconds remaining, the fans rose to their feet and gave their guys an ovation.

“They’re amazing. Our fans are the best,” O’Brien said after the game. “I just appreciate that support that we all have. It’s so fun to play here in front of those fans.”

Takeaways

The power play strikes back

After the Mammoth fizzled out on the power play on Wednesday — 0 for 6, putting them at a league-worst 1-for-16 on the season — something needed to change.

At morning skate on Friday, head coach André Tourigny asserted that there was nothing wrong with the power play, pointing out that they had ample scoring chances, but just couldn’t convert on any of them.

They did end up making one change: They put Schmaltz back in the bumper position, where he’d almost always played, and put Dylan Guenther back on the wing, where the entire league knows how dangerous he can be.

They’d swapped spots against the Flames, and it just didn’t work. Based on Schmaltz’ success, it’s clear that the change was what they needed.

“I still think we’ve got room to improve,” Schmaltz said. “We had a lot of looks last game. Tonight we had a 5-on-3, obviously that was a big goal, but I still think we have room to grow.

“We’ve been a successful unit in the past, so once we start clicking, once we see a few more go in, our percentage will skyrocket for us.”

The Mammoth are now the 30th-best power play in the NHL, and they have plenty of time to continue climbing the ranks.

Don’t forget about Keller

Schmaltz’s goals make him the main story of the game, but Clayton Keller deserves just as much credit, as he assisted on all three of Schmaltz’ tallies.

Midway through the third, Schmaltz decided to return the favor. Recognizing that Keller was open on the left wing, Schmaltz dished it to the captain, who made no mistake firing it past Sharks goalie Yaroslav Askarov.

“(I) definitely owed him one, at least,” Schmaltz said. “He made some great plays to me tonight.”

Keller wasn’t exactly in a slump coming into this game, but his lone point of the season came in the opening game, so you know he was ready to break out. He’s now up to a point-per-game average.

No more turtling

Aside from the unlucky power play, the biggest criticism of Utah’s game on Wednesday was the way the team attempted to hold onto the lead: getting the puck out of the zone, then letting the play come right back to them.

That tendency lost Utah a number of games last season (including one particularly infamous loss to the Sharks). At morning skate on Friday, associate captain Lawson Crouse agreed that they had to change in that regard.

“We’ve got to do a better job of grabbing the puck and grinding down deep in their zone,” he told the Deseret News. “The best defense is when you’re playing offense. … It’s human nature: You’re wired to protect. We’ve got to find that happy medium of protecting while staying aggressive.”

That evening, the Mammoth found that happy medium. Rather than sitting on the lead and just trying to kill the clock, they kept the offensive pressure going.

Sure, they allowed a goal during that time, but they also scored three of their own, which wouldn’t have happened if they’d just focused on defense.

Goal of the game

Nick Schmaltz’s hat trick

Schmaltz’s third goal triggered something the Delta Center had never hosted before: hats raining down onto the ice.

It’s tradition for hockey fans to throw their hats on the ice when someone scores a hat trick. Teams have the liberty to do what they want with the hats. Some donate them to shelters and thrift stores, others display them in the building and some even offer them back to the fans.