^{We’re back in business, baby, as Clayton Keller returns from Italy a little more golden than before}

It’s so good to be back.

The Mammoth have spent a few weeks resting, recovering, and ready to welcome some badly needed support – in the forms of Alex Kerfoot and Logan Cooley – to the team. None other than gold medalist, Clayton Keller, also is expected to be back from the east coast in time for the game.

Coming in to the Delta Center, the Colorado Avalanche boasted a large number of delegates to the Olympics. Some played deep into the playoffs, including silver medal winners Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Devon Toews, and played long minutes into an overtime game they eventually let an entire country down over.

With that said, Utah’s other Olympians – JJ Peterka, Karel Vejmelka, and Olli Maatta – had a bit more rest, with Maatta the only one playing in a medal game late in the Games.

We all know Colorado is good, but will they be as good after their top players suffered such an emotionally crippling defeat? Will the time differences wreak havoc on their systems? Will missing 2 gold-winning empty net goals cause them some hesitation?

Honestly – no one knows at this point. This will be the first hockey we’ve seen from the majority of the NHL in 3 weeks, so anything can happen.

We know Colorado is extremely good. We also know Utah has played them tight all year. We also know we have some massive pieces returning… and all of that will make an exciting game for the first one back.

Key points to secure a victory today:
Sight for Sore Eyes High-flying speedster, Logan Cooley, should make a triumphant return to the Delta Center tonight. Injured against the Blues initially, then again against Vancouver, Cooley has been out since December 5th. His timeline has always been close to the end of the Olympics break, and he’s been practicing for a full week in a full-contact jersey.

Prior to his injury, Cooley had tallied 14 goals / 23 points in his first 29 games. Not only was he producing at just under a point per game, he was also defensively solid with a +6 rating in games played.

Cooley, even missing half the season, is 4th in power play goals for the Mammoth. Adding him to an anemic power play should also provide a shot in the arm for special teams, in a time when this is badly needed during a major playoff push.

Kerfect I have often spoke about a veteran presence on a team and how important that is for younger players. The defensive prospects – Maveric Lamoureux and Dmitri Simashev in particular, have Nate Schmidt and Mikhail Sergachev to learn offensively and defensively from. However, the forward group hasn’t had a mentor-like presence on the line much at all this year. Enter Alexander Kerfoot.

Kerfoot is not flashy. He’s not a goal scorer. He’s not going to bust out breakaways or pull spin-o-rama goals from nowhere. However, he’s consistently good for what he does. He is useful to start in all three zones, and plays significant time on the penalty kill. He’s defensively responsible and will slot in on a 4th line that has not been great this year.

Al Arbor, bench boss behind the New York Islanders’ legendary Cup teams once said something about Mike Bossy. Bossy, in my opinion, was the best pure-goal scorer in the history of the NHL. Arbor saw this, and wanted him drafted. “I can teach a player to check, but I can’t teach a player to score”, he told Bill Torrey.

Alex Kerfoot can’t teach Dylan Guenther, or Logan Cooley, or even up-and-comers from Tucson how to score. But he can lead by example and show these kids how to be more defensively minded. With Guenther already showing excellent skills on a PK unit on his own, Kerfoot’s mentorship can only help solidify some of those great traits moving forward.

No, Not Bryan There is a lot of rust out there for both teams, though the aging winger isn’t among them. Despite a trade with Pittsburgh, the Avalanche aren’t bringing Bryan Rust to the Delta Center. They are, however, bringing in a pair of goaltenders that haven’t seen action in weeks.

There is an advantage here for Utah, and it can’t be overstated. Karel Vejmelka didn’t see action in the Olympics, but he had to be game-ready for the tournament. This is the best case scenario possible for the Mammoth: Vejmelka had the honor of representing his team on an international stage, he had to be game-ready and focused for nearly the whole tournament, and he didn’t have to exert himself or put himself at risk for injury at all.

We saw what good goaltending can do in a playoff type game this weekend. A good goaltender will steal a game, and Vejmelka leads the league in wins for a reason. That reason is an inconsistent backup, but Veggie still had to win those games.

Vejmelka, mentally, should still be locked in. The same may not be able to be said of Mackenzie Blackwood – presumed starter for the Avalanche. Utah hasn’t faced Blackwood yet, so it’ll be a good first look at one of the two goaltenders that Utah may end up facing in the post season.

Projected Lineups:
With Cooley and Kerfoot coming back, I don’t want to guess about the lines. I will update once I get any news from the NHL.

Last lines we had were…

Clayton Keller — Nick Schmaltz — Lawson Crouse
JJ Peterka — Barrett Hayton — Kailer Yamamoto
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

Game start 7 PM at the Delta Center or Utah 16 / SEG plus

TUSKS UP!