Utah Hosts San Jose for Friday Night Matchup

THE DETAILS

WHO: Utah (2-2-0) vs. San Jose (0-1-2)

WHEN: Oct. 17, 2025 – 7:00 p.m. MT

WHERE: Delta Center

TV: ESPN+/HULU

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

MORNING SKATE NOTES

Quick Hits from Skate:

• Liam O’Brien will make his season debut tonight against the Sharks. O’Brien took rushes on a line with Brandon Tanev and Kevin Stenlund. Kailer Yamamoto was paired up with Nick DeSimone as the fourth d-pair in this morning’s workflow and Yamamoto will not be in the lineup tonight.
• Power play units were as follows: PP1: Guenther, Schmaltz, Sergachev, Keller, Cooley. PP2: Schmidt, Hayton, Peterka, Crouse, McBain
• Below is the full workflow from skate:

STOPPING THE SHARKS

With skill, youth, and talent on their roster, the Sharks are a team that can score. In fact, San Jose is averaging 3.33 goals per game which is 13th in the NHL. The Sharks also have the 10th best power play and are scoring on 23.1% of their man-advantage opportunities. As a result, the Mammoth need to remain disciplined and continue their strong defensive effort against tonight’s opponent.

“I think for us it’s to keep going with the process of what we’re trying to do,” Tourigny explained following morning skate. “We were more connected last game, we’re more resilient, we’re more (detailed), that’s what we want to be. We have a ton of respect for San Jose. I think they lost two games in overtime (out of) three, they’re well rested, they didn’t play for a few days so I know they will have a great push, so we’re ready.”

“They’re a super young team, super skilled,” Logan Cooley said on the Sharks. “They like to make a lot of plays, so we got to be aware of that. They got some guys that like to use the back of the net to find guys in the slot, little things like that. I think if we’re taking care of our own end, not cheating the game, we’re going to get our looks and like the outcome.”

FINDING CHEMISTRY

The line of JJ Peterka, Logan Cooley, and Dylan Guenther is finding chemistry quickly. The three are all skilled, smart, fast players and each has gained more familiarity with the other’s play. Cooley discussed playing with his line following morning skate:

“We’re starting to use our speed a little more,” Cooley explained. “Whether that’s forecheck, off the rush, little things like that it’s going to make our line hard to stop and I think we’ve just got to continue to build off of that.

“They’re obviously two really good shooters,” Cooley also shared. “I’m more of a playmaker, try to look for them. I think none of us are really afraid to shoot, so we’re always looking to get pucks to the net and make sure we have a guy there. I think when we’re keeping it simple, that’s honestly when we’re at our best. I think we’re starting to realize that (we need to) let the game come to us, we don’t need to force things. When we do that, good things happen.”

THE PREVIEW

Friday’s Matchup

Utah

• The Mammoth enter the second game of a four-game homestand fresh off a 3-1 win over the Calgary Flames. In the second period, Barrett Hayton and JJ Peterka scored less than four minutes apart to take a 2-1 lead while Kevin Stenlund’s empty net goal with 22.2 seconds left secured the win. Karel Vejmelka stopped 19 of the 20 shots he faced and made big saves in the third period to keep the Flames from tying the game.
• JJ Peterka and Dylan Guenther are tied for the team lead with two goals while Guenther leads the group with four points. Peterka and Nick Schmaltz are right behind him with three points each. Schmaltz is the team leader with three assists.
• Karel Vejmelka has played three of the Mammoth’s first four games to start the year. He has a 2-1-0 record, a 1.67 goals against average, and a .929 save percentage.
• Utah has had a busy start to the regular season. Friday is the team’s fifth game in nine days and three of those contests were on the road. Following the Mammoth’s game against the Sharks, Utah will host the Boston Bruins on Sunday and Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday to wrap up the first homestand of the season.

San Jose

• The Sharks are looking for their first win of the regular season after losing the first three games of the year, two of which were in overtime. San Jose’s most recent game was a 5-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. William Eklund had San Jose’s lone goal and Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 38 of the 43 shots he faced.
• San Jose has the tenth-best power play in the NHL and has scored on 23.1% of their man-advantage opportunities.
• Jeff Skinner leads the Sharks with two goals while Dmitry Orlov, Macklin Celebrini, and Will Smith all share the team lead for assists and points (3).
• Nedeljkovic has played two of the Sharks’ first three games of the year. He has a 0-1-1 record, a 4.45 goals against average, and a .878 save percentage.
• Friday’s game is the front half of a back-to-back for the Sharks who return to San Jose to host the Penguins on Saturday.

By the Numbers

• The Mammoth are averaging the second-fewest shots against per game, holding their opponents to 21 shots a night. On the flip side, the San Jose Sharks are allowing the most shots per game in the NHL with 39.3 on average.
• Utah is fourth in the NHL for average goals against per game (2.00) while San Jose is allowing the most goals on average (5.33).
• The Sharks are the fourth-youngest team in the NHL with an average age of 27.11 while the Mammoth are 13th-youngest with an average age of 28.

Against San Jose This Season

• This is the first of three games between the Sharks and Mammoth this season; however, Friday is the only game at Delta Center this year.

Season Series

• Oct. 17: UTA vs SJS
• Nov. 18: UTA at SJS
• Dec. 1: UTA at SJS

Upcoming Schedule

• Oct. 19: UTA vs BOS
• Oct. 21: UTA vs COL
• Oct. 23: UTA at STL