As the Utah Mammoth continue to surge, the Philadelphia Flyers remain confident they can do the same.
Amid a seven-game point streak, the Mammoth try for a fourth straight victory Wednesday night in Salt Lake City against the Flyers, who aim to win back-to-back games for just the second time in the new year.
Since Dec. 12, Utah is 11-5-1. Thanks to its current 6-0-1 stretch, it currently owns the top wild-card spot in the Western Conference. On Saturday, defenseman Nate Schmidt had two goals with two assists and Lawson Crouse added one with two helpers, as the Mammoth broke open a 3-3 game with three unanswered goals in the third period of a 6-3 home victory over Seattle.
Utah has a 9-2 scoring advantage in the third period over the last seven contests. They are 5-0-1 entering the final clash of this productive seven-game homestand.
“I think as the year’s gone on, we’ve gotten in situations where we’re not panicking,” said Schmidt, who has five points in the last three games. “We’re a little bit more poised with pucks late in games. I think it’s something you have to have, and something that as you grow as a team, that’s got to be something that grows with you.”
Now, the Mammoth look to improve to 3-0 versus Philadelphia during their short time as a Utah franchise.
The Flyers, though, will have some momentum after ending their 0-5-1 skid with Monday’s 2-1 victory at Vegas. Travis Konecny’s second goal of the night, short-handed at 7:22 into the third period, broke a 1-1 tie, and Philadelphia held on to post its first win since opening 2026 with consecutive victories over Edmonton and Anaheim.
“Just showing ourselves that what we believe in is true: We know we are a good team, we just had a little slide there,” said Konecny, second on the club with 43 points aided by three goals and an assist in the last two games.
“We’re a good team. We’ve been playing with all the best teams out here. I thought we put it together (Monday).”
Samuel Ersson made 24 saves Monday for Philadelphia, which clamped down defensively after allowing at least five goals in each of the previous five contests – all lost in regulation. Ersson, who made 39 saves during the Flyers’ 3-2 overtime loss at Utah last season, had yielded 15 goals while losing three straight starts prior to Monday.
With teammate Dan Vladar (2.46 goals-against average) on injured reserve, Aleksei Kolosov has allowed six goals in two games since being recalled from the AHL’s Lehigh Valley last week.
Despite allowing three goals on 21 shots versus Seattle, Utah’s Karel Vejmelka has a 1.66 goals-against average and .935 save percentage during a six-start winning streak. Meanwhile, teammate Vitek Vanecek has just two wins this season and sports a 3.15 GAA while 0-7-2 in his last nine starts.
Mammoth star Clayton Keller has 10 assists in the last six games. He’s posted five goals with nine assists during 14 career games versus Philadelphia.
–Field Level Media
