Golden Knights are in big trouble if they can’t win one in Utah

The Vegas Golden Knights and Utah Mammoth are facing off in one of the more compelling first-round series of the Stanley Cup Playofs, but the series could hinge on Monday night’s Game 4.

After splitting the first two games in Vegas, the Mammoth took control of the series on home ice in Game 3, as they beat Golden Knights goalie Carter Hart with 4 of their 12 shots on goal en route to a 4-2 victory.

Now, the pressure is on Vegas to find a way to win and re-claim home ice while setting up a best-of-three to determine which team advances to the second round. If not, a 3-1 deficit feels like a tall hill to climb against a young, fast Mammoth team that looks every bit like it belongs in this series against a team with real Stanley Cup-winning pedigree.

On Monday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, host Tyler Yaremchuk and co-host and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton discussed the Golden Knights’ need to find a way to tie this series tonight before things get away from them.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Friday night, it was the Utah Mammoth, despite only getting 12 shots on goal, they find a way to beat the Vegas Golden Knights, a 4-2 win for Utah gives them a 2-1 series lead and sets the stage for tonight, Game 4 in Utah, where the Mammoth could take a 3-1 stranglehold. Your first fill-in-the-blank, Hutts, if the Golden Knights lose to the Mammoth tonight, they are… Blank?

Carter Hutton: Toast. I think they’re toast. Again, if it’s one of those nights again where Carter Hart isn’t good, the question will be do they go to Adin Hill, or what do they do in net? Carter Hart’s been good, but he wasn’t in that Utah game, and I think now Utah’s gaining confidence every game, every win. This is a team with a lot of youth, so I think they’re toast.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Yeah, I think that one on Friday, you kind of go through a best-of-7, like games you’re supposed to have, the one where you hold Utah to 12 shots on their home ice, that’s probably one you’re supposed to have, so if you don’t kind of pull a rabbit out of your hat tonight, I think I agree with you that they could be toast.

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode below…