A six-game road trip continues tonight as the Nashville Predators arrive in Salt Lake City to take on the Utah Mammoth from Delta Center at 8 p.m. CT. This evening’s contest is the second of three meetings between the Preds and Mammoth this season; Nashville fell to Utah at home back in October.
The Predators saw their three-game win streak come to an end on Saturday night in St. Louis with a 3-2 loss to the Blues out of the Christmas break. Now, Nashville will look for a better start as they work to get back into the win column against a club just three points ahead of them in the Central Division standings.
“We know this is a huge road trip,” Preds forward Tyson Jost said following Saturday’s loss. “A lot of teams that we're playing, we're fighting for playoff spots with, and we're crawling back in it. So, these are massive games. It's a playoff mentality from here on out, and kind of has been for us ever since we went through that tough stretch, so we’ve got to keep the mentality up and keep pushing… You want to be playing that hockey that really matters.”
Prior to Saturday’s game, the Preds activated defenseman Justin Barron from Injured Reserve, but he was a healthy scratch against the Blues. Winger Jonathan Marchessault did not play and remains day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
The Predators arrived in Utah and practiced on Sunday afternoon.
The Good Guys:
Jost and Fedor Svechkov tallied for Nashville against St. Louis, and Juuse Saros took the loss in net. Svechkov’s goal was shorthanded.
Ryan O’Reilly continues to lead the Preds with 32 points (11g-21a) followed by Filip Forsberg with 16 goals and 29 points. Luke Evangelista has 20 assists and 25 points; Steven Stamkos has 15 goals and 22 points. Saros is 14-12-3 in net; Justus Annunen is 2-5-1.
The Opposition:
The Mammoth haven’t played since Dec. 23, a 1-0 loss to Colorado. Utah has alternated wins and losses in their last six outings overall. Nick Schmaltz and Clayton Keller have identical 12-goal and 32-point statlines to co-lead the Mammoth. Dylan Guenther has 16 goals and 30 points, while JJ Peterka has 14 tallies and 27 points. Karel Vejmelka is 16-10-2; Vitek Vanecek is 2-8-1.
All-Time Meetings:
The Preds are 2-1-1 all-time against Utah and won the only meeting between the two in Salt Lake City last season. That contest on April 10, 2025 at Delta Center saw Juuse Saros make a season high 39 saves; Nick Blankenburg, Filip Forsberg and Ryan O’Reilly scored, with Forsberg tallying the winning goal in the shootout.
Notables Versus Utah:
Michael Bunting was selected by the Arizona Coyotes franchise in the fourth round (117th overall) of the 2014 NHL Draft. He played 26 games for Arizona from 2018-21, recording 14 points (11g-3a).
Ryan O’Reilly had 38 points (15g-23a) in 48 career games against the Arizona franchise, the fourth-most he has recorded against a single team in his career.
Milestone Watch:
Erik Haula is one assist from 200 and four games from 800 in his NHL career.
Steven Stamkos is three goals from 600 in his NHL career.
Jonathan Marchessault is five assists from 300 in his NHL career.
The Predators are four games from 2,100 as a franchise.
Watch & Listen:
Coverage for tonight’s contest begins at 7:30 p.m. CT with the Predators LIVE! pregame show on FanDuel Sports Network South, hosted by Lyndsay Rowley. Play-by-play announcer Willy Daunic and Chris Mason will have the call on the television side. Max Herz and Hal Gill will call the game on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network.
