Mammoth vs. Flyers Recap: Keller and Sergachev Cash on the Power Play

The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Utah Mammoth 6-3 in regulation on Sunday. Matvei Michkov opened the scoring at 12:49 of the 1st, and Dmitri Simashev answered for Utah at 14:24. Philadelphia then took over with four straight even-strength goals from Travis Konecny, Noah Cates, Christian Dvorak and Oliver Bonk to lead 5-1 early in the 3rd. Utah's power play made it 5-3 late with two goals 67 seconds apart, before Cole Knuble sealed it with an empty-netter at 18:26 of the 3rd. Utah outshot Philadelphia 22-21. Karel Vejmelka made 15 saves on 20 shots for Utah, while Dan Vladar stopped 19 of 22 for Philadelphia. Two DARIMARKET plays cashed on this game, and both came from that late Utah push.

What cashed

Clayton Keller 1+ points (-220 at DraftKings): CASHED - Our read: Keller came in with a point in 11 of 14 games (16 points) and in 4 of his last 5, and Utah was a -162 road favorite. We liked his steady production in that spot. - What happened: Keller finished with 0 goals, 2 assists and 4 shots on goal in 19:16 of ice time, 5:11 of it on the power play. He assisted on Mikhail Sergachev's power-play goal at 16:00 of the 3rd, then assisted again on Logan Cooley's power-play goal at 17:07. That is 2 points on a 0.5 line, 1.5 over. - Worth watching: Both points came on the man advantage, and he logged more than five minutes of power-play time. When Utah draws penalties, his points prop stays worth a look, though -220 is a steep price to pay.

Mikhail Sergachev 2+ shots on goal (-175 at DraftKings): CASHED - Our read: Sergachev had 2+ shots in 8 of his last 10 and 12 of 14 this season while logging 26 minutes a night. We leaned on that shot volume and workload. - What happened: Sergachev played 24:32, including 5:32 on the power play, and put 2 shots on goal with 3 hits and 1 blocked shot. One of those shots was his slap-shot power-play goal at 16:00 of the 3rd, assisted by Nick Schmaltz and Keller. That cleared the 1.5 line by 0.5. - Worth watching: This one landed with no room to spare. His minutes and power-play role keep the shots angle in play, but a low-cushion prop like this can turn on one shot.

How the game played out

The 2nd and early 3rd decided it. Philadelphia scored at 1:06 and 5:50 of the 2nd, then at 1:02 and 5:35 of the 3rd, all at even strength. Utah won the shot count 22-21 but trailed by four goals until its power play scored twice on five chances. Philadelphia went 0 for its 2 power plays and did all of its damage at even strength or into the empty net.

Trends to watch

• Utah's power play carried its offense: 2 power-play goals on 5 opportunities, with Keller on both and Sergachev scoring one. Their power-play minutes (5:11 and 5:32) are the core of their prop case.
• Sergachev's 24:32 was a bit under the 26 minutes in our pregame read. Ice time is the first thing to check before backing his shot props again.
• Vejmelka allowed 5 goals on 20 shots for a .750 save percentage. Vladar held Utah to three goals on 22 shots, so the opposing goalie is worth checking before backing Utah skater props.

Stats are from the ESPN box score. More hockey on the NHL hub and in our NHL recaps. New to props? Start with what a player prop is.