How are Cooley and Guenther giving Vegas problems?
The Utah Mammoth are looking to pull off an upset in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Vegas Golden Knights.
The series is about to shift back to Vegas for Game 5 with the teams tied at two games apiece, and while the Mammoth missed an opportunity to take a 3-1 stranglehold earlier in the week, they’re still right in this series.
That’s thanks in large part to the contributions of center Logan Cooley and winger Dylan Guenther, who have combined for four goals in the series and made a major impression with their speed and ability to drive play.
On Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, host Tyler Yaremchuk and co-host and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton were joined by former NHL video coach Steve Peters to discuss the unique threat that Cooley and Guenther present to opposing defenses.
Tyler Yaremchuk: But tonight, Utah-Vegas all tied up at two, Game 5 tonight, 10:00 puck drop from the T-Mobile Center. For stretches in this series, Utah has been able to kind of control the pace of play, and the youth of this team has looked really good. Specifically, I wanna ask you about Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther, who have been driving the offense. What do they do that’s kind of giving Vegas fits?
Steve Peters: You know what, with these two guys, I tell you what, this is the future of the Utah Mammoth. I know it’s been Schmaltz and Keller year after year, but right now it’s Cooley and Guenther… These guys play with pace. They play with speed, and I’ve said it before. People are tough on this opinion, hot take: This is their version of the Chicago Blackhawks’ Kane and Toews. The high flashy American that’s quick with his hands, and the Canadian guy that can play a 200-foot game and can still add to the offense. These two have been absolutely outstanding. Guenther’s fourth in the NHL in shots per game right now. He’s got 20 shots over those four games. Only [Jason] Robertson, [Matt] Boldy and Leo Carlsson have more shots than Dylan Guenther, and for a guy that slight, his ability to beat a goalie clean from the top of the circle off the power play, elite. And Cooley just plays with pace. He plays fast and he plays fast both directions. He plays a little bit of the chip on his shoulder kind of play, and he can be that little bit of a rat too, along with that skill. They’ve been great. They’ve got four goals through this series, and they clearly have been leading the offense for Utah, and that’s how Utah has to win. They’ve got to win with pace. They’ve got to win with speed. They have to beat Vegas up the ice versus Vegas’ physical play along the wall. This is speed versus strength, and I think we’re seeing that play out over the last four games.
You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…