Senators Take the Mammoth Down Despite Fewer Shots
Utah threw more pucks at the net, and Ottawa walked away a 4-2 winner anyway. The Mammoth outshot the Senators 32-21, but more shots did not mean better ones. By expected goals -- how many goals a team's chances were worth -- Ottawa edged it 3.26 to 3.01. Shot attempts were close to dead even at 61-60 for Utah.
So where did it swing? Between the pipes. Karel Vejmelka stopped 17 of 20 shots and finished at -0.46 goals saved above expected, meaning he let in roughly half a goal more than the shots he faced would suggest. At the other end, Samuel Ersson turned aside 30 of 32.
Shane Pinto and Michael Amadio each had a goal and an assist, and Nick Cousins scored on a line with Pinto and Fabian Zetterlund. Clayton Keller fired six shots and had a goal and an assist for Utah, but the Mammoth's extra volume never broke through.
