The Week Ahead: Apr. 6-12

The Utah Mammoth have two weeks left in the regular season and the playoff hunt continues on. Let’s take a look at the storylines surrounding the team.

Main Storylines – Utah 

• Utah enters the week in the first wild card spot with 86 points. The Mammoth have a five-point lead over the Los Angeles Kings who hold the second wild card spot. 

• The Mammoth enter the week on a three-game win streak after beating the Kings, Seattle Kraken, and Vancouver Canucks all on the road. Over those three contests, the Mammoth outscored their opponents 19-8.

• Utah’s power play is rolling with goals in five-straight games. The team has converted on nine of their 17 chances in that span, which is a 52.9% conversion rate. It’s also the third-longest streak in franchise history.

• With several injuries, the Mammoth recalled center Kevin Rooney and defenseman Dmitri Simashev last week.

• There are only six regular season games left for the Mammoth and five of those contests are at home. It’s a busy week for Utah as they have four games this week, including the team’s final back-to-back of the season. 

• Three of the Mammoth’s four opponents this week are teams in a playoff spot or fighting for a postseason berth.

Injury Updates – Utah 

• F Barrett Hayton – upper-body injury

• F Jack McBain – week-to-week, lower-body

• D MacKenzie Weegar – day-to-day, upper-body

Let’s take a look at this week’s matchups!

EDMONTON VS UTAH

APR. 7 | 7:30 P.M. MT

WATCH: ESPN

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

This is the third and final game of the season series. Edmonton won the first two meetings. The Oilers beat the Mammoth 6-3 on Oct. 28 and 5-2 on Mar. 24. 

Season Series

• Oct. 28: UTA vs EDM

• Mar. 24: EDM vs UTA

• Apr. 7: EDM vs UTA

Main Storylines – Edmonton

• Edmonton is first in the Pacific Division with 87 points; however, the top three teams in the division are within one point of each other.

• The Oilers five-game win streak was snapped on Saturday with a 5-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. 

• Captain Connor McDavid leads his team with 43 goals, 83 assists, and 126 points. He also leads the NHL in points. McDavid’s 43 goals are tied for third-most in the league and his 83 assists are tied for the most with Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov. In addition, McDavid has eight points in his last five games (3G, 5A).

• Entering the week, Edmonton has the best power play in the NHL (29.7%) and is scoring the sixth-most goals per game in the league (3.44).

• The Oilers are on a three-game road trip this week that kicks off against the Mammoth on Tuesday. Wednesday night, Edmonton takes on the San Jose Sharks. Saturday, the Oilers end their trip in Los Angeles.

Injury Updates – Edmonton

• F Zach Hyman – undisclosed, could miss up to two weeks

• F Leon Draisaitl – lower-body, IR/starting to skate

• F Mattias Janmark – undisclosed, out for the rest of the season

NASHVILLE VS UTAH

APR. 9 | 7:00 P.M. MT

WATCH: Mammoth+, Utah16

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

This is the fourth and final game between the Mammoth and the Predators this season. Utah won two of the three meetings. On Oct. 11, Utah secured a 3-2 overtime win and on Jan. 24 the team picked up a 5-2 win. The Mammoth lost to the Predators, 4-3, on Dec. 29.

Season Series

• Oct. 11: UTA vs NSH – Game Recap

• Dec. 29: NSH vs UTA – Game Recap

• Jan. 24: UTA vs NSH – Game Recap

• Apr. 9: NSH vs UTA

Main Storylines – Nashville 

• Nashville is in the second wild card spot with 81 points. However, there are four teams within three points of the Predators and six teams within seven points.

• Entering the week, the Predators have won their last two games and are 7-3-0 in their last 10 games.

• Filip Forsberg has six points in his last three games, four of which have been goals. The forward is on a three-game goal streak as well. His 37 goals are second on the Predators and his 71 points lead the team.

• The Predators have the eighth-best penalty kill in the NHL with an 81.7% kill rate.

• It’s a busy week for Nashville with four games, and the first three are on the road. The Predators kick things off with a back-to-back on Monday and Tuesday with games against the LA Kings and Anaheim Ducks. On Thursday, the Predators wrap the road trip against the Mammoth. Following, Nashville is back home for their final three regular season games. On Saturday, the Predators host the Minnesota Wild.

Injury Updates – Nashville 

• D Nicolas Hague – undisclosed

CAROLINA VS NASHVILLE

APR. 11 | 3:00 P.M. MT

WATCH: Mammoth+, Utah16

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

This is the second and final game between Utah and Carolina this season. The Hurricanes won the first game on Jan. 29, 5-4.

Season Series

• Jan. 29: UTA vs CAR – Game Recap

• Apr. 11: CAR vs UTA

Main Storylines – Carolina 

• Carolina enters the week as the top team in the Metropolitan Division with 104 points and has clinched a postseason berth. The Hurricanes have an eight-point lead over the Pittsburgh Penguins who are second in the division. 

• The Hurricanes are 7-3-0 over their last 10 games and lost their most recent game, which snapped a three-game win streak.

• As of Monday, Carolina has the fifth-best power play (24.7%) and the 12^th best penalty kill (80.1%). The Hurricanes are scoring the fourth-most goals (3.51) while limiting their opponents to the seventh-fewest goals (2.92).

• Carolina starts their week on Tuesday with the Hurricanes’ final home game of the regular season. Following, the Hurricanes head out on a four-game road trip with stops in Chicago, Utah, Philadelphia, and Long Island.

Injury Updates – Carolina 

• F Jordan Martinook – undisclosed

• F Jordan Staal – undisclosed 

• G Pyotr Kochetkov – hip, IR

UTAH VS CALGARY

APR. 12 | 7:00 P.M. MT

WATCH: Mammoth+, Utah16

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

This is the third and final game between Utah and Calgary this season. The Mammoth won the first game, 3-1, on Oct. 15 while the Flames won the second meeting, 2-0, on Dec. 6.

Season Series 

• Oct. 15: CGY vs UTA – Game Recap

• Dec. 6: UTA vs CGY – Game Recap

• Apr. 12: UTA vs CGY

Main Storylines – Calgary 

• Calgary is seventh in the Central Division with 72 points. The Flames are nine points behind the Predators who hold the second wild card spot.

• The Flames enter the week fresh off a win, and have points in seven of their last ten games.

• As of Monday, the Flames have the 14^th best penalty kill in the NHL (79.6%). In addition, Calgary has the 11^th best penalty kill at home this season (80.8%).

• The Flames head out on a three-game road trip this week. Calgary will visit Dallas, Colorado, and Seattle before returning home to host Utah on Sunday night.

Injury Updates – Calgary 

• F Jonathan Huberdeau – hip, out for the remainder of the season

• F Samuel Honzek – upper-body, practicing

• D Joel Hanley – upper-body, out for the remainder of the season

• D Jake Bean – undisclosed, IR