The Utah Mammoth are back home after a successful five-game road trip, and their next test comes against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Oct. 13 at 7:00 p.m. MT.
Utah went 3-2 away from home to move to 4-2-0, and now gets Toronto in front of its own crowd. The matchup will be available on ESPN+, Hulu, and Disney+.
For Utah, the spotlight starts with Toronto’s William Nylander. He has been the Leafs’ best player so far, and the Mammoth will need to keep him away from the puck if they want to control this one.
Utah also has to turn up the pressure on Toronto’s goaltending. Sergei Bobrovsky has been strong early in the season, which means the Mammoth need to pile up shots and make life uncomfortable.
Offensively, Utah still has room to grow, especially from Logan Cooley and Vincent Trocheck. The Mammoth have started well, but another gear from those two would help push the team into a better run of form.
Goaltending could also swing the game for Utah, with Sebastian Cossa or Karel Vejmelka likely playing a major role depending on who starts.
Toronto, meanwhile, comes in after a 6-3 win over the star-studded Colorado Avalanche and has been in every game so far this season. That makes the Maple Leafs a dangerous opponent, and they should have a real chance to stay in it again.
Still, the prediction leans Utah at home. After some rest and a return to familiar ice, the Mammoth are picked to edge the Leafs 5-4 in a game that should bring plenty of offense from both sides.
In Other News...
Utah's Goalie Problem Could Reshape The Central Race Fast
Utahs early grip on the Central Division has come with an obvious warning light attached. The Mammoth are sitting on top of the standings at 7-4-0, but the way they have gotten there has raised questions about whether the pace can hold, especially with the teams goaltending and defense looking shaky enough to make every night feel less secure than the record suggests.
Karel Vejmelka and Sebastian Cossa have both struggled to provide the kind of stability a division leader usually leans on, and that has already pushed Utah into the kind of speculation that can reshape a race before Thanksgiving. Around the league, one possible fix is starting to surface in trade chatter, and if the Mammoth decide they need a real answer in net, the conversation could move quickly from problem to priority. [Read more 🡒]
Utahs Strong Start Comes With A Problem Fans Cant Ignore
Utahs hot start has been enough to keep the Mammoth sitting atop the Central Division, but the road game in Seattle offered a reminder that the first-place perch comes with some real questions attached. The third period briefly looked like the kind of rally that can steady a team, with Logan Cooley driving the comeback and giving Utah life after a sluggish stretch.
The problem is the details underneath the fightback, because the penalty kill again left too much room for damage and the goaltending was not sharp enough to cover it. A pair of Seattle power-play goals proved costly, and Karel Vejmelkas night ended with an .818 save percentage, the kind of performance that will keep the discussion going even after the standings still say Utah is in a strong spot. [Read more 🡒]
Coyotes Let Another Winnable Game Slip Away Against Seattle
Utah had enough chances to make a night of it before Seattles depth and special teams took over. The game featured goals from Jordan Eberle, Vincent Trocheck and Brandon Montour, along with a steady stream of penalties that kept both benches busy and gave the matchup a stop-start feel. Even with the stat sheet showing plenty of back-and-forth across shots, hits, blocked shots and faceoffs, the Coyotes were left chasing a result that felt within reach for long stretches.
The frustration is that this one sat there for Arizona to grab if it could have found one more push at the right time. Instead, Seattle kept answering, and a game that had been level at 3-3 eventually tilted away late, turning what looked like a winnable night into another missed opportunity. For a team trying to bank points in a tight race, those are the losses that linger. [Read more 🡒]