The Week Ahead: Mar 16-22

The Utah Mammoth are pushing for the playoffs and have a busy week with four games. Let’s take a look at the storylines surrounding Utah going into this week!

Main Storylines – Utah 

• Utah enters the week looking to snap a four-game losing skid; however, the Mammoth have picked up points in three of their last five games, and in six of their last 10 contests.

• Each one of Utah’s opponents this week currently hold a playoff spot or are within two points of a spot: Dallas, Vegas, Anaheim, and Los Angeles.

• Entering the week, the Mammoth are fourth in the Central Division and are in the first wild card spot with 74 points.

• Forward Dylan Guenther became the first player in franchise history to score 31 or more goals in a single season on Mar. 12. He has five goals in his last five games, including two in his most recent game.

• Last week, Utah announced that forward Nick Schmaltz signed an eight-year extension. This season, Schmaltz is second in goals (24), assists (35), and points (59). He also set a new career-high in goals and is five points away from setting new career-highs in points.

• After starting this week on the road, the Mammoth end the week with a pair of home games. Three of this week’s four games are in the final four days of the week (Thursday-Sunday).

Injury Updates – Utah 

• None

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

UTAH AT DALLAS

MAR. 16 | 6:00 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 Dallas this season. The Stars have won two of the three games so far (Nov. 28 and Jan. 31) while the Mammoth won at home on Jan. 15.

Season Series

• Nov. 28: UTA vs DAL – Game Recap

• Jan. 15: DAL vs UTA – Game Recap

• Jan. 31: DAL vs UTA – Game Recap

• Mar. 16: UTA vs DAL

Main Storylines – Dallas 

• Dallas is on a franchise-tying, 15 game points streak. The last time the Stars lost to in regulation on Jan. 22 against the Columbus Blue Jackets (1-0). Dallas has won eight of its last nine games since returning from the Olympic break.

•  The Stars have four games this week, including three-straight against divisional rivals. All four games are against teams who currently hold a playoff spot.

• Center Wyatt Johnston has eight points in his last five games (3G, 5A). He is on a three-game points streak.

• The Stars are the second-best team in the NHL and their metrics show it. Dallas has the second-best power play (30%), the 10^th best penalty kill (81.1%), and the sixth-best face-off percentage (52.2%). The Stars also are scoring the sixth-most goals per game (3.45) while limiting their opponents to the second-fewest goals per game (2.64).

Injury Updates – Dallas 

• F Mikko Rantanen – lower-body injury, IR

• F Roope Hintz – lower-body, out

• F Radek Faksa – lower-body, IR

• F Tyler Seguin – knee, out for season

UTAH AT VEGAS

MAR. 19 | 8:00 P.M. MT

WATCH: ESPN+, Hulu

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

This is the third and final game between Utah and Vegas this season. Each team has won once so far. The Golden Knights won the first game, 4-1 (Nov. 20), while the Mammoth won the second game, 5-1 (Nov. 24). 

Season Series

• Nov. 20: VGK vs UTA – Game Recap

• Nov. 24: VGK vs UTA – Game Recap

• Mar. 19: UTA vs VGK

Main Storylines – Vegas 

• Vegas won its last two games and entered the week with four games on the schedule. The Golden Knights have gone 4-6-0 since returning from the Olympic break.

• As of Monday, Vegas is second in the Pacific Division with 76 points. The Anaheim Ducks are one point ahead of the Golden Knights, while Vegas is three-points ahead of the Edmonton Oilers.

• Out of the Golden Knights’ four games this week, three are against Western Conference teams.

• Forward Pavel Dorofeyev has eight points in his last five games (5G, 3A). As of Monday, he leads Vegas with 34 goals.

• The Golden Knights are strong on both sides of special teams with the third-best power play (25.5%), and the seventh-best penalty kill (82.3%). 

Injury Updates – Vegas 

• F William Karlsson – lower-body, LTIR

• F Jonas Rondbjerg – undisclosed, IR

• G Carter Hart – lower-body, IR

UTAH VS ANAHEIM

MAR. 20 | 8:00 P.M. MT

WATCH: Utah16, Mammoth+

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

This is the third and final game between the Mammoth and the Ducks this season. Anaheim won the first game in overtime on Nov. 17 (3-2); however, Utah bounced back with a 7-0 win on Dec. 3.

Season Series

• Nov. 17: UTA vs ANA – Game Recap

• Dec. 3: UTA vs ANA – Game Recap

• Mar. 20: ANA vs UTA

Main Storylines – Anaheim 

• Anaheim enters the week as the top team in the Pacific Division with 77 points. Sunday’s win over the Montreal Canadiens earned the Ducks the top spot in their division. The Golden Knights are one point behind, and the Oilers are four points behind.

• Since returning from the Olympic break, the Ducks are 7-4-0. Their win on Sunday snapped a two-game losing skid.

• Trade deadline acquisition defenseman John Carlson made his debut for the Ducks on Mar. 15. After missing two and a half weeks with an upper-body injury, Troy Terry made his return on Sunday as well. Terry had a three-point night in his return to the lineup (1G, 2A).

• The Ducks have three games this week. Anaheim returns home from a four-game road trip to host the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday, before traveling to Salt Lake to take on the Mammoth Friday night. Sunday, the Ducks will host the Buffalo Sabres. 

Injury Updates – Anaheim 

• D Radko Gudas – suspension, eligible to return 3/24

• G Petr Mrazek – hip surgery, out for the remainder of the season

UTAH VS LOS ANGELES

MAR. 22 | 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 Utah and Los Angeles. The Kings won the first game on Dec. 8, 4-2. 

Season Series

• Dec. 8: LAK vs UTA – Game Recap

• Mar. 22: LAK vs UTA

• Mar. 28: UTA vs LAK

Main Storylines – Los Angeles

• Los Angeles enters the week looking to bounce back from a loss on Saturday. This month, the Kings are 3-3-1, and are 4-5-1 since returning from the Olympic break.

• The Kings are fighting for a playoff spot and as of Monday, LA is two points out of the second wild card spot.

• Kings captain Anze Kopitar set the all-time franchise record for points (1,308) on Saturday. Kopitar also played his 1,500^th career regular season game this season. He is the 25^th player to achieve this. Ahead of the 2025-26 campaign, Kopitar announced this would be his final NHL season.

• It’s a busy week for Los Angeles as the Kings will play four games this week. On Monday, the Kings wrap up a five-game east coast road trip with a game against the New York Rangers. Los Angeles returns home for games against the Flyers and Sabres on Thursday and Saturday. On the second half of a back-to-back, LA will face the Mammoth in Salt Lake Sunday night.

Injury Updates – Los Angeles

• F Joel Armia – upper-body, IR

• F Kevin Fiala – leg, IR

• F Andrei Kuzmenko – knee, IR