The Mammoth earned it — the game and the expected-goals battle both.
Utah's dominance extended across every underlying metric. They controlled 70% of expected goals (5.66–2.41), 67% of shot attempts (41–20 on goal), and a 12–4 high-danger chance advantage—a combination that rendered the 6-1 result inevitable.
The Mammoth's efficiency was relentless. They generated 0.062 expected goals per shot versus Toronto's 0.046, a quality gap that predicts their dominance. K. Vejmelka posted 19 saves on 20 shots (0.950 SV%), stopping 1.41 goals above expected. D. Hildeby made 35 saves on 41 shots (0.854 SV%), facing far greater volume and higher-danger chances. The Maple Leafs underperformed their expected goals by 1.41, a variance that widened the gap between the underlying 70-30 split and a 6-1 scoreline.
Utah converted efficiently. They scored 5 goals on 37 rush chances, a conversion rate that transforms speed into sustained scoring. They scored twice from low-danger spots—the kind of opportunism that separates routs from close contests. Crashing the net effectively, they generated 8 rebound opportunities and converted one. Toronto managed 3 rebound chances with one conversion, a metric underscoring their secondary-play limitations.
The game's trajectory was set early. Daniil But's snap shot from the slot at 16:54 of the third period exemplified Utah's sustained control, though the contest had been decided long before by superior shot generation and goaltending.