Utah Starts Back-to-Back in Vancouver

THE DETAILS

WHO: Utah (13-12-3) at Vancouver (10-14-3)

WHEN: Dec. 5, 2025 – 7:00 p.m. MT

WHERE: Rogers Arena

TV: Utah16, Mammoth+

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

MORNING SKATE NOTES

• Utah starts a back-to-back in Vancouver to wrap up a six-game road trip.
• The Mammoth are sticking with the same lineup as last game against the Ducks per head coach André Tourigny.

Building Off the Win

Utah had its most dominant win of the year against the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night. The team wants to build off the successful elements of their game from that contest moving forward.

"That's winning hockey. It takes sacrifice every single night,” Sean Durzi said of the detailed effort. “It's playing that on a consistent basis: tracking, blocking shots, good gaps on the rush. All that stuff is stuff you have to bring on a nightly basis.”

Facing Vancouver

Going into tonight’s contest, the Mammoth are focused on asserting their game against the Canucks.

“Vancouver is much improved in their last five games,” Tourigny explained. “They generate way more offense and they’re better as well defensively. We know it’s a good challenge. They play good hockey lately, but for us, it’s building off our game, not the result, but the way we play, the way we reload, and our effort away from the puck and building off them.”

‘Loudest D-Pair in the League’

Durzi and Nate Schmidt both bring energy and strong communication skills on and off the ice. The two have played together in recent games and Durzi gave some insight into their pairing and the d-core as a whole.

“Probably the loudest d-pair in the league,” Durzi laughed. “Probably can hear us from any seat in the building. But it’s a lot of fun. I never thought I’d meet someone who talks as much as I do on the ice, and he probably talks more than me. He’s a great, great partner. All of our (defensemen) get along. It’s a great group, competitive group. Guys who really want to push each other every day. But I think playing with (Schmidt) has been easy because of communication. It's not only on the ice we’re talking; it’s off the ice. It’s bringing energy for each other, bringing energy for the team, and just playing our consistent game where we can bring on a nightly basis.”

THE PREVIEW

Tonight’s Matchup

Utah

• Utah enters Friday’s game with a 13-12-3 record. The Mammoth are 3-5-2 in their last ten games; however, they won their most recent game to snap a four-game losing skid.
• The Mammoth found their game in their most recent contest, a 7-0 victory against the Anaheim Ducks.
  • JJ Peterka (2), Lawson Crouse, Dylan Guenther, Ian Cole, Liam O’Brien, and Clayton Keller all scored in the win.
  • Karel Vejmelka stopped all 27 shots he faced and recorded his first shutout of the season.
  • The win was Utah’s first seven goal win in franchise history.
• Logan Cooley’s 14 goals are a team-high, while Keller’s 16 assists and 25 points lead the team. JJ Peterka is second on the Mammoth with 12 goals and has contributed three in the last two games. Nick Schmaltz’s 14 assists and 24 points are second on the team.
• Karel Vejmelka has played 21 games this year and has a 11-7-2 record. He has a 2.73 goals against average and a .891 save percentage. Vítek Vaněček makes up the second half of the goaltending tandem. He has a 2-5-1 record through eight games played. He has a 3.11 goals against average and a .869 save percentage.
• The Mammoth are currently fourth in the Central Division with 29 points.
• Friday starts a back-to-back for the Mammoth who will then face the Calgary Flames on Saturday. These two games wrap up a season-long, six-game road trip for the Mammoth.

Vancouver

• Vancouver enters Friday’s game with a 10-14-3 record. The Canucks are 2-6-2 in their last 10 games and are on a three-game losing skid. However, the team has points in two of their last four games.
• The Canucks fell 3-1 to the Colorado Avalanche in their most recent game.
  • Linus Karlsson had Vancouver’s lone goal in the loss, 2:55 into the first period. However, Nathan MacKinnon scored twice, while Brock Nelson added a goal to secure the win for Colorado.
  • Kevin Lankinen stopped 28 of the 31 shots he faced in the game, and finished the night with a .903 save percentage.
• Kiefer Sherwood’s 12 goals are a team-high and Quinn Hughes’ 20 assists lead the Canucks. Hughes and Elias Pettersson are tied for the team-lead with 22 points.
• Kevin Lankinen has played 15 games this year and has stepped up while Thatcher Demko is injured. Lankinen has a 4-8-3 record, a 3.48 goals against average, and a .883 save percentage.
• The Canucks are currently seventh in the Pacific Division with 23 points.
• Friday’s game starts a four-game homestand for the Canucks who will host the Minnesota Wild, Detroit Red Wings, and Buffalo Sabres over the next week.

By the Numbers

• In Utah’s most recent game, the Mammoth had 11 different players with a point and six skaters with multi-point games, which tied a franchise record (per Mammoth PR).
• The Mammoth have scored two shorthanded goals in their last six games. Lawson Crouse scored shorthanded on Dec. 1 against the San Jose Sharks, while Logan Cooley had an empty-net, shorthanded tally on Nov. 24 against the Vegas Golden Knights (per Mammoth PR).
• Vancouver’s Captain Quinn Hughes now averages the most time on ice in the NHL this season (27:25) and has three of the seven games league wide in which a skater has played over 30 minutes in a game (as of 12.4) (per Canucks PR).
• Hughes has 12 points in his last nine games (1G, 11A) while Elias Pettersson has 11 points in his last 10 games (5G, 6A) (per Canucks PR).

Against St. Louis This Season

• This is the first of three games between the Mammoth and Canucks this season, and the first of two games in Vancouver.

Season Series

• Dec. 5: UTA at VAN
• Feb. 2: UTA vs VAN
• Apr. 4: UTA at VAN

Upcoming Schedule

• Dec. 6: UTA at CGY
• Dec. 8: UTA vs LAK
• Dec. 10: UTA vs FLA