Injury concerns grow after veteran defenseman exits early for the Mammoth against Canadiens
Photo credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Utah Mammoth defenseman Nate Schmidt left Thursday's game against the Canadiens with an upper-body injury and did not return in a 5-4 overtime loss in Montreal.
The Utah Mammoth lost veteran defenseman Nate Schmidt early in Thursday's game in Montreal, and the team confirmed it was an upper-body injury.
Utah went on to fall 5-4 in overtime to the Canadiens.
Schmidt skated just 3:59 before leaving.
He did not return for the second period, so the Mammoth played most of the night with five defensemen.
No timeline has been announced yet.
Utah battled through a thin blue line
Playing that shorthanded on the back end is a tough task on the road, and the shot count showed it, with Montreal outshooting Utah 35 to 20.
Still, the Mammoth forced overtime and came away with a point, which matters in a tight standings race.
Rookie goaltender Sebastian Cossa stopped 30 of 35 shots in his second straight start, including eight of the nine he faced while Utah was shorthanded.
The power play also came through, going 3-for-5.
Cooley and Sergachev keep producing
Logan Cooley factored in all four Utah goals with a hat trick and an assist, the fifth hat trick of his career.
Nick Schmaltz added a goal and two assists.
Captain Clayton Keller assisted on Cooley's third goal and became the ninth-fastest active player to reach 200 points with the franchise, doing it in his 700th career NHL game.
Alternate captain Mikhail Sergachev also stretched his career-best point streak to nine games, with three goals and eight assists over that run.
Utah turns around quickly with a Saturday game against Ottawa, so any update on Schmidt's status from the team will be worth watching before puck drop.
After that, Utah faces Vegas on Wednesday and St. Louis on Thursday.
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