The History Of Utah – The Utah Mammoth opens up a five-game road trip tonight at Capital One Arena, and the Caps are getting their first look at the team formerly known as the Arizona Coyotes in just under 13 months.
Last season was the team’s first in Salt Lake City, and the Caps claimed a 6-2 win over the team then known as the Utah Hockey Club in its first visit to Utah on Nov. 18, 2024. The franchise chose “Mammoth” as its third nomenclature in as many years last summer.
Utah was last in Washington on Feb. 9 of last year when it prevailed 5-4 in a shootout in the final game played for both teams prior to last season’s break for the Four Nations Face-Off.
“They are a handful,” says Caps coach Spencer Carbery of Utah’s bevy of skilled young forwards. “The usual with [Nick] Schmaltz and Clayton Keller, who've been there for a long time. And they sort of have that [Jack] McBain; [Lawson] Krause plays with them, but that physical, net front puck retrieval player on those top two lines with those two guys that I mentioned, McBain with [Dylan] Guenther and [Logan] Cooley, and so they're a handful. Shots, ability to skate, and Cooley a little bit more with puck possession in the offensive zone. He's going to try to break you down and Guenther with his shot, as elite as there is in the League right now. And they’ve get [J.J.] Peterka, too. I think he gets lost in the shuffle with how much skill they have up front, but it's going to be a good test.
“They're a really good hockey team, a skating team, so you're going to have to move your feet. We're going to have to be constantly moving because this team, to me, is built on speed and skill and and that's their bread and butter. We're going to have to be able to move our feet. It's not that we have to play the same type of game, but you just have to be ready to turn over and skate tonight and stay up to their pace and their level of pace. And then if we can control some shifts and slow them down, and now we occupy [their zone].Puck possession will be the key for us tonight.”
Although the Mammoth just split a six-game homestand (3-3-0), it is 13-6-1 since Jan. 1, owning the eighth best record (.675) in the NHL over that span. Utah’s record is tops among all Western Conference clubs during that stretch, which also shines some light on the daunting task ahead for the Capitals as they try to climb back into the playoff picture. That means the top seven teams in the NHL since the turn of the calendar are all Eastern Conference clubs playing at a clip of .675 or better, while Washington’s pedestrian 10-10-2 mark is 22nd in the circuit and tied for 11th in the Eastern Conference across that span.
To The Kill – Special teams have been somewhat spotty for the Caps this season, but Washington’s penalty kill has quietly turned the corner over the last two months. Since the turn of the calendar to 2026, the Caps’ penalty killing outfit has been successful on 84.9 percent of its missions, fifth best in the NHL across that span.
“I think [assistant coach] Scott [Allen] has done an excellent job of solving some of the issues that we were having early in the season,” says Carbery of the penalty kill. “And the guys deserve credit for not only taking those things, but going out there and then performing at a high level. And so, that’s the Nic Dowds of the world, [Aliaksei Protas, Tom Wilson, Connor McMichael] our [defensemen], Matt Roy, Marty [Fehervary] – a huge block the other night – Rasmus Sandin, huge block the other night. So there’s a lot of details, but there is also a lot of work and commitment that’s gone into the penalty kill, and it has done a fantastic job.”
Washington is 6-2-0 in its last eight games, and the Caps’ penalty kill is 21-for-23 (91.3 percent) during that stretch, second in the NHL.
“Just start with the goaltending,” says Dowd. “I think our goalies have played very well, and I think that's got to be your best penalty killer. Most likely, if you have a couple of kills, they're probably going to be asked to make one or two saves – big saves – and they've done that.
“But I also think we've done a much better job of pressuring pucks and pressuring entries, and you spend less time in your zone having to defend, instead of giving the best players on the other team an opportunity to make more plays. I think face-offs have been important. If we can try and get that first clear, that's going to kill 30 seconds and require them to have to come set up and get back into their structure, whereas if a team can win a face-off clean and get right into their setup, it's pretty nice. It’s the same for our guys.
“So I just think pressure is a key for any penalty kill. But I definitely think for ours, it’s to make guys make hurried plays.”
38 Special – Three years ago Wednesday, defenseman Rasmus Sandin made his debut in a Caps sweater in an 8-4 win over the Sharks in San Jose. Sandin picked up three assists in the game, the first of three multi-point games in his first four contests in a Washington uniform.
Sandin joined the Caps in a Feb. 28, 2023 deal with Toronto, but had to sort out some visa issues before he could suit up with the Caps. He came to Washington as a not-quite-23-year-old defenseman with 140 games of experience under his belt, and he has since established himself as a versatile defender who can play either side of the ice while contributing on both special teams.
“I think he's just rounded out his all-around game, is the way that I would describe it,” says Carbery. “Because if you remember when he came here -- and I followed it quite closely; we were actually talking about this the other day – I was in Toronto when we traded him here, and so it was a big trade. He was like six/seven defenseman for a few years in Toronto, and [the Leafs] ended up moving him for the pick and [Erik] Gustafsson.
“I watched – and we as a staff, watched – a lot of his games here. And in that time too, coincidentally, John [Carlson] was out with the [fractured skull] injury, so Sandy was running the top unit power play. So, he was clipping points every night. [Alex Ovechkin] was shooting it in the back of the net like, I think he was over a point a game for [a while]. And so, you know how that was going over in Toronto, needless to say.
“But having been around Sandy for five-plus years, he's just his all-around game has grown so much and come so far. And when he was missing games, I noticed it a lot in the film, is he finds ways to exit our zone that go unnoticed and maybe doesn't catch your eye. But when you're in the defensive zone and the [opposing] team has sustained pressure, and we get possession and it gets to him, usually it finds its way out to a good spot.
“And that's not easy. It is not easy, because usually you're a little bit fatigued, usually you're facing a ton of pressure. [Opposing defensemen are] coming down walls. And he can move his feet; he can get out of really tight spots. And so whether it's that scenario or breakouts against just a straight up forecheck, he's come such a long way in that and his defending, his stick, his penalty kill.
“All of that stuff now goes along with always as he was growing up, and as a younger player and playing in the Soo, he always has shown the ability of being able to walk the blue line and run a power play and be able to contribute offensively.”
Sandin has hit the 20-point mark already this season, doing so for the fourth consecutive season. He has ascended to 30 or more points in two of those campaigns.
“It’s crazy that it’s been three years already,” says Sandin. “Time’s been flying by pretty fast. It’s been a great ride so far. I feel like I’m just having a lot of fun here, just feeling at home and just being around the guys in the room.
“I feel like I’ve taken some steps with my game as well, with what probably was my weakness when I came here, in playing defense and stuff like that. It’s something that we’ve worked a lot on with the coaching staff.”
In The Nets – Logan Thompson will be back between the pipes tonight for Washington, seeking his 22nd win of the season and his fourth in succession. Thompson has permitted two or fewer goals against in each of his last three starts, and he has done so in 25 of 41 starts on the season to date.
In making his 42nd start of the season tonight, Thompson will match a single-season career high in starts. He started 42 games for Vegas in 2023-24 and started 42 contests for the Caps last season. Thompson is making his 42nd appearance of the season tonight; he made 43 appearances last season and his career best is 46 with Vegas in ’23-24.
Lifetime against Arizona/Utah, he is 2-3-1 in six appearances – all starts – with a 2.82 GAA and an .884 save pct.
For the Mammoth, Karel Vejmelka gets the net tonight. With 47 starts and appearances, and with 2763:41 in the crease this season, Vejmelka is the NHL’s workhorse netminder in 2025-26; he leads the League in all three categories. He is also tied – with Tampa Bay’s Andrej Vasilevskiy – for the League lead with 28 wins, a single-season career best total for Vejmelka.
Lifetime against Washington, Vejmelka is 3-3-0 in seven appearances – five starts – with a 2.19 GAA and a .929 save pct.
All Down The Line – Here’s how the Caps and the Mammoth might look on Tuesday night in the District:
WASHINGTON
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 17-Strome, 72-Beauvillier
21-Protas, 80-Dubois, 43-Wilson
24-McMichael, 34-Sourdif, 9-Leonard
22-Duhaime, 26-Dowd, 53-Frank
Defensemen
42-Fehervary, 57-van Riemsdyk
6-Chychrun, 3-Roy
52-McIlrath, 38-Sandin
Goaltenders
48-Thompson
79-Lindgren
Healthy Extras
29-Lapierre
47-Chisholm
Injured/Out
74-Carlson
UTAH
Forwards
9-Keller, 8-Schmaltz, 11-Guenther
77-Peterka, 92-Cooley, 67-Crouse
22-McBain, 27-Hayton, 56-Yamamoto
15-Kerfoot, 82-Stenlund, 53-Carcone
Defensemen
98-Sergachev, 50-Durzi
88-Schmidt, 6-Marino
28-Cole, 2-Maatta
Goalies
70-Vejmelka
41-Vanecek
Healthy Extras
13-Tanev
38-O’Brien
57-DeSimone
Injured/Out
None
