Coming off a 4-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Monday night at the TD Garden, the response from the Boston Bruins was going to be interesting against the Utah Mammoth.
Several problems have plagued the Black and Gold early in the season, including 5-on-5 offense and special teams, mainly the power play. However, after losing to the Senators, the Bruins had some time to go over some things and fix some things. That's what head coach Marco Sturm and his staff did.
Line changes, a power play that looked like it should, and perfect penalty-killing were a recipe for success in what turned into a 6-1 victory at the TD Garden. There are still questions surrounding just how good this Boston team is, but given the struggles early in the season, one quote from the Mammoth locker room is one that not many Black and Gold fans thought they would hear at any point in 2026-27.
Utah captain Clayton Keller drops eye-opening quote after loss to Bruins
After a very slow start following the drop of the puck, once the Bruins picked up their game, they scored three goals in the first two periods on their way to a 6-0 lead through 40 minutes. They drove Sebastian Cossa to the bench in the first period after allowing three goals, and Utah captain Clayton Keller didn't mince words after the game.
“We left Cossa out there to dry a little bit…we got embarrassed tonight,'' said Keller, per Cole Bagley of KSL Sports.
How many people had the Bruins "embarrassing" the Mammoth on their bingo card last night? How bad was it for Utah? Consider the following,
- The Bruins entered the game 0-for-10 on the power play in their first four games. They went 3-for-4 against the Mammoth, with David Pastrnak scoring his first two goals of the season and Morgan Geekie scoring his first while Boston was on the power play. Ouch.
- Utah went 0-for-7 on their power play in the game. The Mammoth came into the game with a pair of Top 5-ranked special teams to begin the season. It didn't look like it on Thursday night. Boston got lucky with seven minor penalties handed out.
- Not only did Pastrnak and Geekie score their first goals of the season, but so did Mason Lohrei, Casey Mittlestadt, and Matthew Poitras. Talk about a team breakout game at its finest.
- Jeremy Swayman stopped 36 of the 37 shots he faced, while Utah's netminders stopped just 16 of the 22 shots the Bruins fired at them.
Overall, it was a big bounce-back win for the Bruins, and when the dust settles on the season, you will be able to count on one hand how many times this season an opponent says that they were "embarrassed'' by the Bruins. For one night, it was needed on multiple levels for Sturm's team.
Add us as a preferred source on Google