SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Mikhail Sergachev scored in the third period to put Utah ahead to stay, and the Mammoth held on for a 4-3 win over the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night.
Nick Schmaltz, Sean Durzi and Barrett Hayton also scored goals for the Mammoth, who have won nine of their last 11 games and played without top goal-scorer Dylan Guenther, who has a lower-body injury. Vitek Vanecek made 25 saves and Durzi also had an assist.
Sandis Vilmanis, Cole Schwindt and Carter Verhaeghe scored goals and Sergei Bobrovsky made 16 saves for Florida, which had a three-game winning streak snapped.
Sergachev’s goal with 8:55 to play gave Utah a 3-2 lead and Hayton made it 4-2 with an empty-netter with 56 seconds to play. Verhaeghe scored with 16 seconds left to pull the Panthers within 4-3, setting up a frantic final few seconds.
Schmaltz scored an unassisted short-handed goal with 4:14 to play in the first period when he picked up a loose puck just inside his own blue line, skated in alone and backhanded it past Bobrovsky.
The second short-handed goal of Schmaltz’s NHL career (the first was on March 26, 2024, against Columbus) gives him 15 points in his last 14 games (7 goals, 8 assists).
Vilmanis’ goal 2:52 into the second was the first of his NHL career and tied it at 1-1. The team’s fifth-round draft choice in 2022 was playing in his ninth NHL game.
The Panthers went scoreless on the power play in four chances.
Florida’s A.J. Greer played in his 300th career game
Up next
Mammoth: Play at Carolina on Thursday night in the final game of a four-game road trip.
Panthers: Visit St. Louis on Thursday night.