^{Utah’s afternoon game moved up to accommodate poor weather conditions}

The Utah Mammoth, having completed one of their most successful and exciting homestands in team history, are on the road today. In Nashville, the Mammoth battle both the Predators and Mother Nature, as today’s game has had its start time moved earlier to avoid an upcoming winter storm.

Today marks both the first game of Utah’s road trip, which swings through Florida and North Carolina over the next week, as well as the Predators final home game before they swing to the East Coast.

The last game of December, these two teams faced off at the Delta Center, with Utah falling 4-3 in regulation. That was Utah’s last regulation loss in the past 8 home games. The Mammoth return to Bridgestone Arena, beating the Predators in overtime in the first meeting of the year. The series finale will occur back in Salt Lake in April.

What should the Mammoth expect today? Well, first off, “winter conditions”. Apparently, the amateurs in Tennessee shut down with 2-4 inches of snow. That’s more than enough reason to move up a hockey game.

Realistically, though, Utah is coming into Nashville at a decent time. The Predators were one of the best teams in December, with the 5th best record in the league. While they cooled off in January – a pedestrian 15th of 32 for points in 2026 – they’re still in a close race for a wildcard spot just by holding a close to .500 record.

What’s icing the Predators in 2026?
The Predators in December were hot, riding strong goaltending from Juuse Saros and backup Justus Annunen. Saros was 8-3 for the month, giving up just 2.67GA and posting a solid .912 save percentage. This was a strong improvement over his November, where he was just 3-5-1, giving up nearly 1 more goal a game and 40 points down in save percentage. Needless to say, December Juuse was on a heater, dragging Nashville with him.

In January, however, the script has flipped again. Saros is now neither a world beater or world-beaten, but just sub-par compared to his peers. Ranking 35th in starters (3+ games played in January), he’s also 41st in save percentage from 62 eligible goaltenders.

This has greatly impacted Nashville as a whole. The team is giving up 1 full goal more per game than December (2.64 to 3.64) while scoring has declined from 3.43 goals a game to just 2.91.

The decline in scoring is just as important as the decline in defense, as in their 11 January games, only three have seen them score more than 3 regulation goals. The Predators have been shut out once and had two games of just 1 regulation goal as well.

What’s behind that? Well, Nashville has a strong power play, running about 25%. In January, it’s dipped slightly to 24%, but Nashville is drawing fewer penalties. With their leading scorer, Steven Stamkos, getting about a third of all his goals on the power play, January’s production from him has dipped.

All in all, the Predators are in a strange spot that makes it hard to know what they’ll bring, and which versions of themselves show up today.

Key points to secure a victory today:
Eskimo Kisses The Predators are 5-1 in one goal games in January (2 goal games with an ENG included) with their sole loss coming to Buffalo on Tuesday. Nashville is very, very good at winning close games. With Steven Stamkos, Ryan O’Reilly, Roman Josi and Jonathan Marchessault, Nashville is pretty stacked with veterans that know how to win tight games. Sure, it’s taken them a season plus to gel, but they’ve done it well over the past 45 days.

What’s the solution? Keep the game from getting too close and kill off the tenacious counter-attack when the Predators give up a goal. A strong forecheck and play by the third and fourth line after any goals, or any significant Predators momentum, that forces them deep in their zone can eventually wear out a little bit of an aged core.

Look to three players in particular to help the Mammoth get some points on the board. First, Dylan Guenther has carved them up for 2 goals and 4 points and has a +2 rating in 2 games. That performance includes a OT goal to win the first meeting. JJ Peterka and Nick Schmaltz have had similarly decent games, both notching 2 points with positive ratings on the ice as well. Sean Durzi, honorable mention with 2 assists.

With these three scoring threats – one on each line no less – Nashville may have to spread their lines a bit thin, giving one of those three lines the ability to score and potentially open up play for the others as well.

Go up by 2, and the chances of winning go up dramatically – but don’t fall prey to hubris here, as Ottawa was up 3-0 and ended up losing 5-3…

Ice in His Veins Karel Vejmelka was out of the lineup the last time these two teams played, and Utah ended up losing 4-3 in devastating fashion. Up 3-2 after a third period Dylan Guenther goal, the Mammoth lost the lead, then the game in under two minutes.

Vitek Vanecek gave up 4 goals in the loss, with an expected goals against rating of just over 2. Saros, by the way, should have given up 4 goals in that game, giving up 3. So, a combination of better than expected goaltending by Nashville, and worse than expected goaltending by Utah, was a major reason for the loss.

Now, with Karel Vejmelka back in net, the Wasatch Wall has been able to backstop the Mammoth to 16 of a possible 18 points in his last 9 games. Sporting just a 2.22 goals against, Vejmelka has a +7 goals saved above expected, making him a top 10 goalie in the league over his last 10 starts.

If the Mammoth hope to win, Vejmelka needs to be on his game. After a slightly shaky outing against Philadelphia – one not helped by unusually bad play by a stout defensive pairing in Nate Schmidt and John Marino – having a solid bounce-back game may allow Vejmelka to steal 2 points from their division rival.

Deep Freeze Ryan O’Reilly just came off an 11 point week for the Predators. Sure, a hat trick against the best team in the league, for their first home regulation loss more than half a season isn’t that big of a deal, but his back-to-back 3 point games is a bit concerning coming into this matchup.

O’Reilly was a massive reason in the Colorado Avalanche upset. O’Reilly was the catalyst for the Ottawa game 3-goal deficit turnaround. O’Reilly also nearly turned around a game against Buffalo that the Predators ended up falling just short on.

The pairing of O’Reilly and Steven Stamkos has been a massive reason that the Predators are surging. Stamkos’ 24 goals lead the Predators, but his success is fueled in large part by O’Reilly and his 32 assists (and team leading 50 points).

O’Reilly is huge on the forecheck, has great net presence, great vision on the ice, and will be a massive threat to handle. Targeting him, specifically, and freezing him out from any more big-breakout games will go a long way towards another 2 points and extending their lead in the wildcard race.

Projected Lineups:
I didn’t see any updates, so I assume same lines. I really hope there’s a change in the bottom, though:

Clayton Keller — Nick Schmaltz — Lawson Crouse
JJ Peterka — Barrett Hayton — Daniil But
Michael Carcone — Jack McBain — Dylan Guenther
Brandon Tanev — Kevin Stenlund — Liam O’Brien

Mikhail Sergachev — Sean Durzi
Nate Schmidt — John Marino
Ian Cole — Nick DeSimone

Karel Vejmelka
Vitek Vanecek

UPDATED GAME TIME: 11:30 local time. Game available on Utah 16 and SEG+

TUSKS UP!