SALT LAKE CITY — The Pittsburgh Penguins entered their four-game Western Conference road trip with some promise but plenty of questions.

Consider those questions answered after the trip — just not in ways Pittsburgh would like. And the promise evaporated into the dry mountain air.

The Utah Mammoth beat the Penguins 5-4 on Monday at the Delta Center. It was Pittsburgh’s fourth straight regulation loss and seventh defeat in eight games overall. The Penguins’ record is now 3-6-1.

Pittsburgh took the lead 71 seconds in on a rare power play goal. Erik Karlsson netted his first of the season with a slap shot from the point that redirected off a Mammoth defenseman and past Utah goalie Sebastian Cossa.

Karlsson leads the team with 10 points this season.

But the Penguins’ recent trend of slow starts returned with a vengeance from there. The Mammoth lived in the Penguins’ zone and found an equalizer by the 6-minute mark. A brilliant pass from the corner by Lawson Crouse put Clayton Keller on the doorstep. Utah’s captain did the rest.

Kevin Stenlund gave the Mammoth a 2-1 advantage four minutes later, punching in the rebound of a Mikhail Sergachev shot. That score held to the first intermission.

Utah outshot Pittsburgh 16-6 in the opening period, as the Mammoth’s young roster exposed the Penguins’ lack of speed. Arturs Silovs kept the lead from ballooning further with some tough saves. But it was otherwise another lackluster period for Pittsburgh at the end of a nightmarish road trip.

They steadied early in the second, and the power play stayed hot to even the score. Bryan Rust whipped a pass to Rickard Rakell at the side of the net. The Penguins winger turned and fired a quick shot past Cossa for his first goal of the season seven minutes into the frame.

Pittsburgh killed off a penalty shortly after Rakell’s goal. But 30 seconds after the power play expired, Nate Schmidt gave Utah a lead again on a point shot that sneaked past a screened Silovs. Penguins defenseman Declan Carlile couldn’t dislodge Jack McBain from in front of the crease.

Carlile was demoted to the second pair Monday after spending the entire season in the top duo alongside Karlsson. Carlile was on the ice for three of Utah’s first four goals.

Utah quickly added to the advantage. Just after narrowly missing on a 2-on-1 chance, Utah flew into the Penguins’ zone on the rush again. Schmidt found Kailer Yamamoto, who’d gotten behind Egor Chinakhov, for a tip-in right on top of the crease that made it 4-2 Utah at the second intermission.

The Mammoth kept pouring it on with a Nick Schmaltz power play goal. After Schmaltz misfired on an initial chance in tight, Karlsson inadvertently batted the puck right back to the Utah forward. Schmaltz converted on the second chance for a three-goal lead.

Chinakhov got one back less than 90 seconds later when he soared down the wing off a pass from Andrei Kuzmenko and beat Cossa on the rush. It was Chinakhov’s first goal since the season opener.

Carlile brought the Penguins within one with five minutes remaining. Kaedan Korczak fired a shot toward the circle that Rakell tipped on net. Carlile snapped in the rebound for his third goal of the season.

Cossa made a big save on Ben Kindel in the closing seconds to preserve the win.

Around the boards

— Defenseman Sam Girard missed the game after he slid hard into the boards Saturday in Las Vegas. He participated in the Penguins’ morning skate, and Penguins coach Dan Muse said he was a game-time decision.

— Ilya Solovyov made his first appearance of the season in Girard’s absence. The Penguins recalled him from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Sunday.

— Chinakhov returned after missing two games with a lower-body injury — and he got a promotion to the top line alongside Sidney Crosby and Rust.

Up next

The Penguins return to Pittsburgh for a three-game homestand spread over eight days. It starts Thursday against the Florida Panthers.

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