The Week Ahead: Dec. 29-Jan. 4

As the countdown is on for the new year, the Utah Mammoth have one final game in 2025. Following, the team starts 2026 on an east coast road trip. Let’s take a look at what’s going on with the Mammoth during the final week of the year.

Main Storylines – Utah

• After a very busy schedule to start the year, Utah had an opportunity to rest and recover from the long stretch. In addition to the three-day winter break, the Mammoth had two additional days without games following the holidays. With practically a game every other day for the first two and a half months, the extra rest and practice time is a luxury this time of year.
• The Mammoth are still without forward Logan Cooley; however, the team is finding offense from up and down the lineup. The team has nine different goal scorers in their last five games.
• This is the healthiest Utah has been all season with two roster players injured. Monday morning, the Mammoth announced that goaltender Karel Vejmelka is out with an upper-body injury and the team recalled Matt Villalta from Tucson. On Sunday, the Mammoth put defenseman Juuso Välimäki on waivers with the intention of assigning him to Tucson. Välimäki suffered an ACL injury in late February and started practicing with the Mammoth before the holiday break. His last NHL game was on Jan. 26.
• Utah will end the year with its third-straight Central Division game. The division standings are tight as five teams are separated by five points. As of Monday, the Mammoth are fourth with 39 points through 39 games.
• The final home game of 2025 is Monday against the Nashville Predators. Following Monday’s game, the Mammoth head to the east coast to face the New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils, and New York Rangers.

Injury Updates – Utah

• F Logan Cooley – lower-body injury, out minimum eight weeks
• G Karel Vejmelka – upper-body, IR
• G Anson Thorton – lower-body, injured non-roster

Let’s take a look at the three upcoming matchups this week!

NASHVILLE VS UTAH

DEC 29 | 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 four meetings between the Mammoth and Predators this season. Utah won the first game in overtime, 3-2. This is the first game at Delta Center this year.

Season Series

• Oct. 11: UTA vs NSH – Game Recap
• Dec. 29: NSH vs UTA
• Jan. 24: UTA vs NSH
• Apr. 9: NSH vs UTA

Main Storylines – Nashville

• Nashville’s three-game win streak was snapped in the team’s first game back from the holiday break. However, it was a close 3-2 loss.
• Entering their final two games of 2025, the Predators had a strong December. The team has gone 8-4-0 through 12 games.
• Steven Stamkos has six points in his last five games (3G, 3A). The veteran center is three goals away from his 600th in the NHL. He recently played his 1200 career game and through 1201 contests he has 597 goals and 615 assists for 1212 points.
• Ryan O’Reilly has won 55.9% of his faceoffs this season. His win rate is 17th in the NHL, out of all players who have taken at least 15% of their team’s faceoffs.

Injury Updates – Nashville

• F Jonathan Marchessault – lower-body, day-to-day
• F Ozzy Wiesblatt – upper-body, IR

UTAH VS NEW YORK ISLANDERS

JAN 1 | 1:00 P.M. MT

WATCH: Utah16, Mammoth+

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

This is the second of two games between the Mammoth and the Islanders this season. In the first meeting, New York secured a 3-2 overtime win at Delta Center.

Season Series

• Nov. 14: NYI vs UTA – Game Recap
• Jan. 1: UTA vs NYI

Main Storylines – New York

• New York enters the week with an 8-4-1 record in December, and the Islanders have one final game in 2025. The Islanders have points in three of their last five games.
• The Islanders are a strong team defensively. In addition to allowing the sixth-fewest goals per game in the NHL (2.67), New York has the ninth-best penalty kill (82.7%).
• After missing two weeks with an ankle injury, Bo Horvat is back. The Islanders’ goals and points leader scored on Sunday night in his second game back. As of Monday, Horvat leads New York with 20 goals and 32 points.
• Goaltender Ilya Sorokin is out with a lower-body injury; however, he is eligible to return from IR at any point. Sorokin has a 12-10-2 record with a 2.55 goals against average and a .910 save percentage.
• When the Islanders host the Mammoth on Jan. 1, it’ll start a three-game homestand.

Injury Updates – New York

• F Kyle Palmieri – ACL, IR
• F Pierre Engvall – ankle, LTIR
• D Alexander Romanov – upper-body, IR
• G Ilya Sorokin – lower-body, IR
• G Semyon Varlamov – knee, IR

UTAH VS NEW JERSEY

JAN 3 | 1:00 P.M. MT

WATCH: Utah16, Mammoth+

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

This is the second and final game between the Mammoth and the Devils this season. In the first game, a third period power play goal led New Jersey to a 2-1 win. Daniil But scored his first NHL goal in the loss.

Season Series

• Dec. 19: NJD vs UTA – Game Recap
• Jan. 3: UTA vs NJD

Main Storylines – New Jersey

• New Jersey enters the week on a three-game losing skid; however, the Devils will look to bounce back in a back-to-back set to close out 2025. The Devils are 4-8-1 in December.
• The Devils have gained back some key pieces in recent games as Jack Hughes, Timo Meier, and Arseny Gritsyuk all returned to the lineup last Sunday, Dec. 21. New Jersey is still missing five players.
• When it comes to the power play, the Devils have one of the best in the league. New Jersey has scored on 21.3% of their power play opportunities and are ranked 10th in the league (as of Monday).
• New Jersey will end the year on a road back-to-back with stops in Toronto and Columbus. When the Devils host the Mammoth, it’ll be the team’s first game of 2026 and the start of a two-game homestand.

Injury Updates – New Jersey

• F Evgenii Dadonov – upper-body, IR
• F Marc McLaughlin – undisclosed, IR
• F Zack McEwen – upper-body, IR
• D Simon Nemec – undisclosed, IR
• D Jonathan Kovacevic – knee, IR