Utah Hosts Nashville in Return from Break

THE DETAILS

WHO: Nashville (16-17-4) vs Utah (18-18-3)

WHEN: Dec. 29, 2025 – 7:00 p.m. MT

WHERE: Delta Center

TV: Utah16, Mammoth+

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

MORNING SKATE NOTES

• Check back after the Mammoth’s morning skate at 10:30 a.m. MT.

THE PREVIEW

Tonight’s Matchup

Utah

• Utah enters Monday’s game with a 18-18-3 record, and the Mammoth are 4-6-0 in their last 10 games. The team has four wins in their last seven games.
• The Mammoth fell 1-0 to the Colorado Avalanche in their most recent game.
  • Utah played a great game against the NHL’s best team; however, a strong performance from Colorado goaltender Scott Wedgewood kept the Mammoth from scoring on any of their 32 shots.
  • Vítek Vaněček stopped 25 of the 26 shots he faced in the game.
• Dylan Guenther’s 16 goals lead the Mammoth as does Mikhail Sergachev’s 21 assists. Captain Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz are tied for the team-lead with 32 points each.
• Karel Vejmelka, Utah’s starting goaltender, was placed on IR (retroactive to 12/23) with an upper-body injury. The team recalled Matt Villalta from Tucson. The other half of Utah's goaltending tandem is veteran Vítek Vaněček who has a 2-8-1 record through 11 games played. He has a 2.81 goals against average and a .882 save percentage.
• Monday’s game is the Mammoth’s final home game in 2025. The team hits the road for a three-game east coast swing. Utah will play the New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils, and New York Rangers before returning home.

Nashville

• Nashville enters Monday’s game with a 16-17-4 record, and the Predators are 6-4-0 in their last 10 games. The team has won three of their last four games. Currently, Nashville is sixth in the Central Division with 36 points.
• The Predators fell to the St. Louis Blues, 3-2, in the team’s first game back from the break.
  • After trading goals in the first 12 minutes, St. Louis’ Pavel Buchnevich scored twice to give his team a 3-1 lead early in the third period. Nashville’s Fedor Svechkov scored a shorthanded goal with eight minutes left in regulation, but the Predators were unable to find the equalizer.
  • Juuso Saros stopped 17 of the 20 shots he faced in the loss.
• Filip Forsberg’s 16 goals lead the team while Ryan O’Reilly’s 21 assists and 32 points are team-highs. Steven Stamkos is second in goals (15) while Luke Evangelista is second in assists (20) and points (25).
• Saros is Nashville’s starting goaltender. He has a 14-12-3 record, a 2.92 goals against average, and a .898 save percentage. Justus Annunen makes up the other half of the goaltending tandem. He has a 2-5-1 record, a 3.43 goals against average, and a .871 save percentage.
• Monday is the second game of a six-game road trip for the Predators. After Utah, the team will play Vegas, Seattle, Calgary, and Edmonton before returning home.

By the Numbers

• Utah is holding teams to the second-fewest shots on goal per game in the NHL (25.1). In addition, the Mammoth are allowing the 11th fewest goals per game, on average, in the league (2.87).
• Nashville has the seventh-highest win rate with faceoffs (52.1%). O’Reilly has won 55.9% of his faceoffs this season which is 17th in the NHL (must take 15% of team’s faceoffs to qualify).
• Both teams have a strong penalty kill. Utah is eighth in the NHL with an 82.9% kill rate while Nashville is 11th with an 82.1% kill rate.
• The Mammoth are tied for the eighth-most third period goals with 44 while Nashville is tied for 11th most in the final frame with 43.

Against Nashville This Season

• This is the second of four games between the Mammoth and the Predators this season. Monday is the first of two games at Delta Center this season.
• In the first game, Utah beat Nashville 3-2 in overtime. Dylan Guenther scored 2:56 into overtime to secure two divisional points. Jack McBain and Logan Cooley also scored for the Mammoth in the win.

Season Series

• 11: UTA vs NSH – Game Recap
• 29: NSH vs UTA
• 24: UTA vs NSH
• 9: NSH vs UTA

Upcoming Schedule

• Jan. 1: UTA vs NYI
• Jan. 3: UTA vs NJD
• Jan. 5: UTA vs NYR