Utah Starts Road Trip in Nashville

THE DETAILS

WHO: Utah (26-20-4) vs Nashville (24-22-4)

WHEN: Jan. 24, 2026 – 11:30 a.m. MT

WHERE: Bridgestone Arena

TV: Utah16, Mammoth+

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

MORNING SKATE NOTES

• Head coach André Tourigny shared there are a few game time decisions for today.

Facing the Predators

As Utah faces Nashville in a Central Division matchup, it’s an opportunity for the Mammoth to earn two points especially against the team right behind them in the standings.

“It’s a long season, it’s a grind,” Tourigny explained. “If you look around us, everybody’s winning. You need to keep winning. We’re in the big race, there’s a lot of teams who apply (for) that job and we need to make sure we stay humble, we stay focused, one game at a time. That’s a huge trip for us, starting with a huge game.”

The Predators are 6-4-0 in their last 10 games and will be a tough opponent.

“Nashville (has played) good hockey lately,” Tourigny shared. “(They) beat us last time in our barn. They play a heavy style of game. They’re heavy in front of the net, heavy forecheck, so it will be a good challenge physically.”

1000 for Josi

Nashville’s Captain Roman Josi played his 1000 NHL games, all with the Predators, on Jan. 22. The home team will honor their captain with a pregame ceremony. Josi is well respected throughout the league and Tourigny discussed the Swiss defenseman pregame.

“I think he plays the game the right way,” Tourigny said. “He’s really competitive everywhere on the ice, defensively, offensively. Obviously has good shots, (is) a great player. He’s been here for his first 1000 games so it’s nice to have the opportunity to see that.”

THE PREVIEW

Tonight’s Matchup

Utah

• Utah enters Saturday’s game with an 8-1-1 record in its last 10 games and a 26-20-4 record.
• The Mammoth are fourth in the Central Division with 56 points and currently are in the first wild card spot.
• In their most recent game, the Mammoth beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-4, in overtime.
  • After trailing by three goals at the start of the second period, Utah started its comeback. JJ Peterka and Lawson Crouse scored 36 apart in the second period to get the Mammoth in the game. In the third period, Dylan Guenther (PPG) and Clayton Keller scored and sent the game to overtime. Keller won the game with his 15th goal of the season, 2:01 into the extra frame.
  • Karel Vejmelka recorded his 24th win of the season and stopped 25 of the 29 shots he faced.
• Guenther’s 24 goals are a team-high and his 43 points are third on the team. Keller leads the Mammoth with 34 assists and 49 points. Nick Schmaltz is second in all scoring categories with 18 goals, 28 assists, and 26 points.
• Vejmelka has a 24-11-2 record as Utah’s starting goaltender. He has a 2.59 goals against average and a .900 save percentage. The other half of the goaltending tandem includes Vítek Vaněček. He has a 2-9-2 record with a 2.92 goals against average and a .883 save percentage.
• Saturday is the start of a four-game road trip for the Mammoth. Following their game in Nashville, the team will play a back-to-back against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers. Utah wraps up the trip with a game against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Nashville

• Nashville enters Saturday’s game with a 6-4-0 record in its last 10 games and a 24-22-4 record.
• The Predators are fifth in the Central Division with 52 points and are one point out of the second wild card spot.
• In their most recent game, the Predators beat the Ottawa Senators, 5-3.
  • Nashville was trailing Ottawa, 3-0, halfway through the game; however, Steven Stamkos’ hat trick pushed the Predators to a comeback win. Jonathan Marchessault and Cole Smith (EN) also scored as Nashville had five unanswered goals.
  • Juuso Saros stopped 23 of the 26 shots he faced for his 20th win of the season.
• Steven Stamkos’ 24 goals lead the Predators while Ryan O’Reilly’s 32 assists and 50 points are team-highs. Filip Forsberg is second with 19 goals and 40 points while Luke Evangelista’s 30 assists are second-most on the roster.
• Saros is Nashville’s starting goaltender, and he has a 20-16-3 record this season. The netminder also has a 3.01 goals against average and a .896 save percentage. Justus Annunen makes up the second half of the goaltending tandem. He has a 4-6-1 record, a 3.33 goals against average, and a .881 save percentage.
• Saturday’s game wraps up a three-game homestand for the Predators. Nashville will start a three-game road trip in Boston on Tuesday.

By the Numbers

• Nashville has the second most comeback wins in the NHL this season with 15 (tied with Philadelphia). 13 of the Predators comeback wins have been by one goal. Utah is tied for the 10th most comeback wins with 12. Nine of the 12 wins have been by one goal, one has been by a two-goal deficit, and two have been three-goal comeback wins.
• Stamkos’ 11 goals against a division opponent are second in the NHL while O’Reilly’s 19 points are ninth-most in the league.
• Stamkos leads the NHL with eight game winning goals while Guenther is fourth with six.
• The Mammoth have won eight of their 10 games in 2026 and have points in nine of those games. Utah is on an eight-game points streak.

Against Nashville This Season

• This is the third of four games between Utah and Nashville this season.
• Utah won the first game in overtime, 3-2; however, Nashville won the second, 4-3.
• The road team has won in both previous games and each of these Central Division matchups have been decided by one goal.

Season Series

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

Upcoming Schedule

• Jan. 26: UTA vs TBL
• Jan. 27: UTA vs FLA
• Jan. 29: UTA vs CAR