The Utah Mammoth saw their losing streak reach three games on Wednesday night, but it is not just losing games that is a concern as they host the St. Louis Blues on Thursday in Salt Lake City.
Less than a half-hour before the start of Wednesday’s 5-3 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, the Mammoth announced that forward Dylan Guenther would go on injured reserve with an upper-body injury. In addition, leading goal scorer Logan Cooley became a late scratch with an upper-body issue, making him day-to-day.
The Mammoth also placed defenseman Nate Schmidt on injured reserve retroactive to Nov. 5.
And if that weren’t enough, second-leading goal scorer Nick Schmaltz left the game with 11 minutes left in the second period with a lower-body injury. He did not return.
Despite the injuries, the Mammoth hung with the Golden Knights through the first period. However, coach Andre Tourigny’s team gave up three goals in a stretch of just over five minutes early in the second period as Vegas pulled away.
As the Mammoth prepare for the Blues, Tourigny said his players need to remain composed during times of adversity.
“We need to be more connected and more in control,” he said. “There is a reality of some injury, (but) we need to be big boys and play the kind of game we can win. Play a game where we can get really, really stingy, play really good defensively and apply pressure.”
Defenseman Dmitri Simashev scored midway through the third period to make it a 4-3 contest. It was his fourth goal of the season, with all of them coming in the past eight games.
The Blues ended a three-game losing streak (0-2-1) of their own with a 3-2 win Tuesday over the visiting Detroit Red Wings. Jimmy Snuggerud scored and set up a goal and Robert Thomas notched two assists.
Justin Barron also scored a goal, giving the Blues defenseman points in four of his last six games. The former first-round pick has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in 15 games this season.
Barron is five points shy of matching his career high, set in 2022-23 across 39 games with Montreal. Blues coach Jim Montgomery said after Tuesday’s win that he believes Barron will maintain this level of play.
“He’s done it long enough to think that this is the best version of him,” Montgomery said. “He wasn’t a first-round pick by mistake. That’s clear by his talent, and now he’s just putting it all together.”
Utah goalie Karel Vejmelka (6-6-0, 3.29 goals-against average) sat Wednesday, putting him in line for the start against the Blues. In 11 games (10 starts) the Czech native is 4-3-1 with a 3.30 GAA and a .890 save percentage versus the Blues.
Joel Hofer (7-5-1, 2.33 GAA) has started in net for 13 of the Blues’ 18 games this season. He snapped a personal two-game skid with Tuesday’s win, stopping 29 shots. Hofer is 2-2-0 in five starts against the Mammoth since November 2024.
–Field Level Media
