QUICK HITS
BLUES The Blues are back in the win column!
Jimmy Snuggerud scored the game-winning goal - his team-leading tenth of the season - with 4:03 remaining in the third period to hand the Red Wings their fourth consecutive loss. Despite a late push from Detroit with the extra attacker to pull within 3-2, the Blues held on to improve their home record to 5-2-1.
"I thought our first 40 minutes might've been our best 40 minutes of the year," said Head Coach Jim Montgomery. "[Detroit] pushed, they were down - I thought we took our foot off the pedal but we managed the puck well. We kept making them come against pressure and that's why we extended the lead."
After Andrew Copp deflected a shot from Ben Chiarot with 12.5 seconds remaining in the first period, Pius Suter responded for St. Louis early in the second period with his 100th career goal and 200th career point.
"[Suter's line] has given us an identity of playing to how we want to play," Montgomery said. "They go out and play a simple game and they executed well. It's a great illustration to the next lines coming out that this is how we go wave after wave."
Justin Barron scored his third goal of the season two minutes later, becoming the 14th defenseman in franchise history to record at least 10 points in his first 15 games. Robert Thomas recorded two assists and Joel Hofer made 30 saves on 32 shots.
MAMMOTH The Utah Mammoth have fast-tracked their success, making the Stanley Cup Playoffs in just their second NHL season. Although they were eliminated by the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round, it was a message to the rest of the Western Conference that a new contender has arrived ahead of schedule.
General Manager Bill Armstrong made major moves during the offseason to continue Utah's improvement, acquiring Vincent Trocheck from the New York Rangers to bolster the team's middle six. Trocheck scored 16 goals last season and had a 56.9 face off winning percentage.
The Mammoth also acquired goaltender Sebastian Cossa from the Red Wings in exchange for the No. 23 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and signed him to a two-year contract. Defenseman John Marino signed an eight-year contract extension with Utah, while forwards Kevin Stenlund and Kailer Yamamoto, and defenseman Nick DeSimone all signed two-year contract extensions with the Mammoth.
Forward Barrett Hayton was retained by Utah after Armstrong matched a one-year, $4.75 million offer sheet extended by the New Jersey Devils.
Utah did lose some offensive firepower and depth in the offseason, trading forward J.J Peterka to the Boston Bruins for the first-round pick used in the Cossa deal. Defenseman Sean Durzi was traded to the Rangers as part of the Vincent Trocheck package. Forward Alex Kerfoot, defensemen Ian Cole and Scott Perunovich, and goaltender Vitek Vanecek departed during free agency.
Utah enters Thursday's game with an 11-7-1 record and will be looking to end a three-game losing streak after a 5-3 road loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday. Their goaltending has struggled, with both Cossa and Karel Vejmelka sporting above a 3.00 goals-against average and an .870 save percentage.
Additionally, the Mammoth may be facing the Blues with a significantly depleted lineup due to injuries.
Marino and defenseman Nate Schmidt are sidelined with injuries. Dylan Guenther was placed on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury on Wednesday evening and will miss approximately 2-4 weeks per Utah Mammoth PR. In a corresponding move, Utah recalled forward Daniil But from the Mammoth's AHL affiliate, the Tuscon Roadrunners.
Logan Cooley did not play against Vegas and was classified as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Nick Schmaltz exited Wednesday's contest with a lower-body injury and did not return.
