NHL

Utah Mammoth at Buffalo Sabres

· National Hockey League
Final
2 - 1

Clayton Keller's overtime goal gives Mammoth 2-1 win over Sabres

Clayton Keller wins it in OT for Utah

Keller wheeled through the Sabres zone and drove to the net where he slipped a shot past Alex Lyon that helped the Mammoth snap a two-game losing skid.

Nick Schmaltz also scored, and Karel Vejmelka made 17 saves for Utah and added an assist on the winning goal.

Noah Ostlund scored and Lyon made 33 saves for Buffalo. The Sabres have one win in their last five games, which each went to overtime or shootout, and have points in seven straight.

Schmaltz’s goal at 3:58 of the third period opened the scoring. His wrist shot from right circle got through Lyon for his eighth goal of the season.

Ostlund’s first NHL goal tied the game at 7:50 of the third when he batted home a puck that caromed off the glass and was knocked out of the air to the front of the net by Isak Rosen.

This was the first matchup between the two teams since the June 26 trade that sent winger JJ Peterka to Utah for forward Josh Doan and defenseman Michael Kesselring. Peterka, who spent three-plus seasons with Buffalo and would not re-sign with the team, was booed each time he touched the puck.

Up next Sabres: Conclude a three-game home stand against St. Louis on Thursday.

Mammoth: Continue a four-game road trip in Toronto on Wednesday.

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Regular Season Series

UTA leads series 1-0

Scoring Summary

Goal 3rd Period 3:58 Nick Schmaltz Goal (8) Snap Shot, assists: Clayton Keller (9), John Marino (5)
Goal 3rd Period 7:50 Noah Ostlund Goal (1) Snap Shot, assists: Isak Rosen (1)
Goal 4th Period 0:47 Clayton Keller Goal (5) Wrist Shot, assists: Mikhail Sergachev (8), Karel Vejmelka (1)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/uta.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originUTA https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/buf.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originBUF
9 Blocked Shots 21
15 Hits 20
4 Takeaways 4
35 Shots 18
0 Power Play Goals 0
2 Power Play Opportunities 2
0.0 Power Play Percentage 0.0
0 Short Handed Goals 0
0 Shootout Goals 0
30 Faceoffs Won 20
60.0 Faceoff Win Percent 40.0
15 Giveaways 11
2 Total Penalties 2
4 Penalty Minutes 4
Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Sabres Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Tyson Kozak, C Out Dec 23
Conor Timmins, D Injured Reserve Dec 20
Colten Ellis, G Injured Reserve Dec 17
Jason Zucker, LW Injured Reserve Dec 17
Utah Mammoth Utah Mammoth Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Karel Vejmelka, G Out Dec 23
Logan Cooley, C Injured Reserve Dec 13

Game Information

KeyBank Center

Location: Buffalo, NY
Attendance: 16,202 | Capacity:

2025-26 Central Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Colorado 27 2 61 7
Dallas 25 7 56 6
Minnesota 22 10 50 6
Utah 18 18 39 3
Nashville 16 16 36 4
St. Louis 14 16 36 8
Winnipeg 15 17 33 3
Chicago 13 17 32 6

2025-26 Atlantic Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Detroit 22 13 47 3
Montreal 20 12 45 5
Tampa Bay 20 13 43 3
Florida 20 14 42 2
Ottawa 18 13 41 5
Boston 20 17 41 1
Buffalo 18 14 40 4
Toronto 16 15 37 5
Full Standings