The Utah Mammoth staged a dramatic comeback from a 3-0 deficit in the third period to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4 in overtime on Sunday at PPG Paints Arena. Dylan Guenther scored the winner just 42 seconds into the extra frame, securing Utah's second straight victory. Pittsburgh blew a multi-goal lead for the second consecutive night, extending their skid.
The Pittsburgh Penguins started strong, building a 3-0 lead through two periods. Justin Brazeau opened the scoring 48 seconds into the first with a backhand for a 1-0 advantage. Bryan Rust made it 2-0 at 15:21 of the opening frame by chipping in a loose puck. Ben Kindel extended the lead to 3-0 at 5:40 of the second on a breakaway wrist shot, his eighth goal of the rookie season.
Utah turned the game around in the third period, scoring four straight goals in the first 7:06. Nate Schmidt cut the deficit to 3-1 at 1:07 with a wrist shot off a rebound from Nick Schmaltz. Michael Carcone followed 15 seconds later at 1:22, banking a shot off the side of the net that ricocheted in off Penguins goaltender Sergei Murashov to make it 3-2. Sean Durzi tied the game at 3-3 at 5:35 with a wrist shot from the right circle, a goal upheld after Pittsburgh's unsuccessful coach's challenge for goaltender interference, resulting in a delay-of-game penalty.
Carcone then scored on the power play at 7:06, wristing a shot from the right circle off a pass from Barrett Hayton to give Utah a 4-3 lead. Brazeau responded late, tying it at 4-4 at 14:06 by deflecting a shot from Erik Karlsson. In overtime, Guenther sealed the 5-4 win with a wrist shot from the high slot for his 15th goal of the season and third overtime tally.
Utah outshot Pittsburgh 37-16, including 17-6 in the third. Karel Vejmelka made 12 saves for the Mammoth (16-15-3), while Murashov stopped 32 for the Penguins (14-8-9). "Just keep going the same way," Guenther said of the comeback. Penguins coach Dan Muse noted, "Not in a million years did I think we'd be back here 24 hours later having the exact same conversation." Sidney Crosby added, "We still had enough to get a win. And unfortunately, we didn't do that."
The loss marked Pittsburgh's fourth straight defeat where they led in the third period (0-1-4). Newly acquired goaltender Stuart Skinner and defenseman Brett Kulak remained unavailable due to immigration issues.
