Mammoth vs. Sabres: Anders Lee, John Marino and Utah's Red-Hot Power Play Sink Buffalo

The Buffalo Sabres finally scored a power-play goal this season. That was the good news. The bad news is that the Utah Mammoth spent the rest of Saturday night showing them what a functioning man advantage actually looks like.

Anders Lee, John Marino and Kailer Yamamoto each had a goal and an assist, Nick Schmaltz scored for the sixth time in six games, and Utah beat Buffalo 4-1 at KeyBank Center. After falling behind early, the Mammoth scored the final four goals of the night.

One Flukey Goal, Then Silence

Buffalo had entered the night 0 for 13 on the power play, so when Logan Cooley went off for hooking at 7:36 of the first, the building at least had hope. Twenty-four seconds later, Tage Thompson carried the puck out of his own zone, worked down to the bottom of the right circle and snuck a wrist shot short side past Karel Vejmelka, who had left a sliver of room between his arm and the post. Rasmus Dahlin had the assist. It was Thompson's third goal of the season and his 216th with the Sabres, moving him into a tie with Don Luce for 11th in franchise history, per NHL.com.

Thompson was refreshingly honest about it. "We got what I would call a pretty flukey power-play goal today," he said.

The lead lasted 2:12. Yamamoto, making his season debut in place of Michael Carcone, who is listed week to week with an upper-body injury, tied it at 10:12. Barrett Hayton collected a rebound in the left circle and quickly found Yamamoto driving to the net for a tap-in. Mikhail Sergachev picked up the second assist.

Utah coach Andre Tourigny was thrilled for the forward. "Super happy for 'Yammy'," he said, adding that "he's an everyday player, and I think he deserves all the credit."

The Turning Point: 2:01 Late in the Second

For most of the second period, the game hung at 1-1. Then Utah broke it open in a span of 2:01.

First came the power play. Cooley slipped a feed across the crease to Schmaltz at the left post, and Schmaltz buried it at 15:23 for a 2-1 lead, with Clayton Keller also assisting. According to the AP, it was Schmaltz's sixth goal in six games this season and his fourth on the power play.

Then came the dagger. Marino worked the puck down low to Lee, who scored on a backhand from the low slot at 17:24 for a 3-1 cushion. Lee had nothing but praise for the setup man. "Johnny plays with such poise. He's not a flashy guy, but he's always making a smart play defensively and breakouts," he said.

The period ended with MacKenzie Weegar and Peyton Krebs dropping the gloves at 19:27, but the scoreboard damage had already been done.

The Power Play Puts It Away

Utah finished things early in the third. Olen Zellweger went off for holding 32 seconds into the period, and 1:13 later Marino stepped into a power-play slap shot from the point that went through Colten Ellis's five-hole at 1:45. Hayton and Lee assisted. It was Marino's first goal of the season.

Buffalo had chances to answer, including a pair of third-period power plays, but Vejmelka shut the door, and the Sabres never got closer than three.

Who Delivered

Anders Lee: A goal and an assist in 12:08. He summed up the night better than anyone. "It was a pretty complete game, to be honest," Lee said. "I think we won the special teams. I thought the PK was great, had a ton of blocks."

John Marino: A goal and an assist from the blue line in 19:06, and the kind of quiet two-way game his teammates clearly value.

Kailer Yamamoto: A goal and an assist in his season debut, plus three hits in 12:28. Not a bad way to say hello.

Nick Schmaltz: His sixth goal of the season, and the one that put Utah in front for good.

Barrett Hayton: Two assists in 12:30, and he won seven of 11 faceoffs.

Karel Vejmelka: 23 saves on 24 shots for a .958 save percentage. The only puck that got by him was the one Thompson called flukey.

Rasmus Dahlin: An assist, five blocked shots and 25:42 of ice time for Buffalo. He did his part.

Stats That Matter

• 2 for 5: Utah's power play on the night. According to the AP, the Mammoth lead the NHL with 10 power-play goals in 25 chances this season. Buffalo is 1 for 18.
• 33-17: Utah's edge in hits. The Mammoth played heavy all night.
• 23: Shots blocked by Utah, which helps explain why Vejmelka only had to face 24.
• 30-24: Utah's edge in shots on goal.
• 5-0-0: Utah's record against Buffalo since the franchise debuted in the 2024-25 season, per NHL.com.

What It Means

Utah moves to 4-2-0 with eight points and bounced back from a 6-1 loss in Boston on Thursday. The win closed a five-game road trip at 3-2, which is a respectable haul for a trip of that length this early in the year. The Mammoth host Toronto on Tuesday night.

Buffalo falls to 2-3-0 and has lost two in a row at home with just one goal to show for it, following a 4-0 loss to Dallas on Thursday. The Sabres are 2-2-0 at home and close a five-game homestand against Florida on Monday. Coach Lindy Ruff did not dance around the problem. "I just thought we had guys that were squeezing the stick," he said. "We haven't been connected. We're trying to find who we are."

Thompson offered a blueprint. "That's when you just have to get to the net, throw pucks and get bodies there and just get ugly," he said.

Closing Take

Utah's power play right now is the hockey version of a cheat code, and Buffalo's still looks like it is stuck on the loading screen. The Sabres have talent, they have a workhorse defenseman in Dahlin, and they have a sniper in Thompson. What they do not have is rhythm. Until the puck starts finding the net at 5-on-5 and on the power play, nights like this will keep happening. Utah, meanwhile, rolls home with a trip it can feel good about and a special-teams unit nobody wants to see.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details from the Associated Press; postgame quotes and notes as reported by NHL.com.