The Week Ahead: Feb. 23 – Mar. 1

After a two-and-a-half-week break, the Utah Mammoth are back in action. The Mammoth will resume the regular season with three divisional games at home this week. Here’s the main storylines surrounding Utah coming out of the break!

Main Storylines – Utah

• Utah entered the Olympic break with two-straight wins and 7-3-0 record in its last 10 games. The Mammoth are 30-23-4 this season and hold the first wild card spot in the west with 64 points.

• Captain Clayton Keller won gold with Team USA at the Olympic Winter Games while defenseman Olli Määttä won his second Olympic bronze medal with Finland. Forward JJ Peterka (Germany) and goaltender Karel Vejmelka (Czechia) each were on teams that made it to the quarterfinal round of Milano Cortina 2026.

• After 12 days off, the Mammoth resumed practices on Feb. 17. The team focused on getting back into game shape and focused on various areas of their play like special teams and neutral zone play.

• Forwards Logan Cooley and Alexander Kerfoot both have been full participants at the Mammoth’s practices following the Olympic break.

• The Mammoth will enter the second half of a six game homestand with three divisional matchups at the Delta Center this week. Following, Utah hits the road for a five-game road trip.

Injury Updates – Utah

• F Logan Cooley – lower-body injury, IR

• F Alexander Kerfoot – lower-body, IR

Let’s take a look at Utah’s three games this week as the regular season gets underway!

COLORADO VS UTAH

FEB. 25 | 7:00 P.M. MT

WATCH: Utah16, Mammoth+

LISTEN: KSL Sports Zone (97.5FM/1280AM), KSL Sports App, NHL App, NHL.com

This is the fourth and final game between Utah and Colorado this season. The home team has won each game of the series so far, and each game has been decided by one goal. 

Colorado won the first matchup on Oct. 9, 2-1. Utah responded with a 4-3 overtime win on Oct. 21. The Avalanche won the most recent game, 1-0, on Dec. 23. 

Season Series:

• Oct. 9: UTA vs COL – Game Recap
• Oct. 21: COL vs UTA – Game Recap
• Dec. 23: UTA vs COL – Game Recap
• Feb. 25: COL vs UTA

Main Storylines – Colorado 

• Colorado is the top team in the NHL with 83 points and a 37-9-9 record. However, the Avalanche have hit a patch of adversity recently as the team is 4-5-1 in their last 10 games. Colorado did beat the San Jose Sharks to enter the Olympic break with a win and have won two of their last three games.

• The Avalanche had eight players participate in Milano Cortina 2026: Captain Gabriel Landeskog (Sweden), Nathan MacKinnon (Canada), Cale Makar (Canada), Devon Toews (Canada), Brock Nelson (USA), Artturi Lehkonen (Finland), Joel Kiviranta (Finland), and Martin Necas (Czechia). Six of those eight players brought home medals: Nelson (gold), MacKinnon (silver), Makar (silver), Toews (silver), Lehkonen (bronze), and Kiviranta (bronze).

• Colorado has the second-best penalty kill (84.7%) and the ninth-best faceoff percentage (51.1%). The Avalanche are allowing the fewest-goals per game (2.42) while scoring the most-goals per game (3.84).

• The Avalanche will jump right back into the regular season with three games in four days. Colorado starts a back-to-back on the road in Utah before returning home to host the Minnesota Wild on Thursday. The Avalanche will wrap a two-game homestand with a game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday.

Injury Updates – Colorado

• F Logan O’Connor – hip, IR

MINNESOTA VS UTAH

FEB. 27 | 7:00 P.M. MT

WATCH: Utah16, Mammoth+

LISTEN: KSL Sports Zone (97.5FM/1280AM), KSL Sports App, NHL App, NHL.com

This is the second of three games between the Mammoth and the Wild this season. Utah won the first game, 6-2, in Minnesota. 

Season Series

• Oct. 25: UTA vs MIN – Game Recap
• Feb. 27: MIN vs UTA
• Mar. 10: UTA vs MIN

Main Storylines – Minnesota

• Minnesota is one of the top teams in the NHL and second in the Central Division with 78 points and a 34-14-10 record. The Wild are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games and entered the Olympic break on a five-game win streak and seven-game points streak.

• The Wild had eight players at Milano Cortina 2026: Matt Boldy (USA), Brock Faber (USA), Quinn Hughes (USA), Joel Eriksson Ek (Sweden), Marcus Johansson (Sweden), Filip Gustavsson (Sweden), Jesper Wallstedt (Sweden), and Nico Sturm (Germany). Boldy, Faber, and Hughes won gold with Team USA. 

• Entering the week, the Wild have the sixth-best power play (25.4%) and have allowed the eighth-fewest goals against per game (2.86).

• Minnesota resumes its regular season with a road back-to-back. The Wild will play the Avalanche on Thursday in Denver before traveling to Salt Lake City to face the Mammoth on Friday night. The team then returns home to host the St. Louis Blues on Sunday.

Injury Updates – Minnesota 

• D Jonas Brodin – lower-body, IR

CHICAGO VS UTAH

MAR. 1 | 2:00 P.M. MT

WATCH: Utah16, Mammoth+

LISTEN: KSL Sports Zone (97.5FM/1280AM), KSL Sports App, NHL App, NHL.com

This is the second of four games between Utah and Chicago this season. The final three games of the season series will take place over 12 days. Utah lost the first game of the series, 3-1, in Chicago.

Season Series

• Oct. 13: UTA vs CHI – Game Recap
• Mar. 1: CHI vs UTA
• Mar. 9: UTA vs CHI
• Mar. 12: CHI vs UTA

Main Storylines – Chicago

• Chicago is sixth in the Central Division with 53 points and a 22-26-9 record. The Blackhawks are 3-5-2 in their last 10 games.

• Forward Teuvo Teravainen was Chicago’s only player at Milano Cortina 2026. He won a bronze medal with Finland.

• As of Monday, Chicago has the best penalty kill in the NHL (85.7%). On the other side of special teams, the Blackhawks’ power play is ranked 19^th (19.1%).

• The Blackhawks resume their regular season with a four-game road trip that starts in Nashville on Thursday. Chicago then will travel to Colorado, Utah, and Winnipeg to round out the trip.

Injury Updates – Chicago 

• D Wyatt Kaiser – lower-body, IR