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
Alex Tuch, RW Day-To-Day Dec 12
Josh Norris, C Day-To-Day Dec 12
Colten Ellis, G Injured Reserve Dec 11
Jason Zucker, LW Injured Reserve Dec 9
Utah Mammoth Utah Mammoth Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Logan Cooley, C Injured Reserve Dec 13
Alexander Kerfoot, C Injured Reserve Dec 9

Game Information

KeyBank Center

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

2025-26 Central Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Colorado 22 2 51 7
Dallas 21 6 47 5
Minnesota 17 9 39 5
Utah 15 15 33 3
Chicago 13 12 32 6
St. Louis 12 14 31 7
Winnipeg 14 15 29 1
Nashville 12 14 28 4

2025-26 Atlantic Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Tampa Bay 18 11 38 2
Boston 19 13 38 0
Detroit 17 12 37 3
Montreal 16 11 35 3
Toronto 14 11 33 5
Florida 15 13 32 2
Ottawa 14 12 32 4
Buffalo 13 14 30 4
Full Standings