Didn’t we do this song and dance already? After the Utah Mammoth lost to the Blackhawks 3-2 in overtime on Monday night in Chicago, the Hawks visit Utah on Thursday night to close out the season series.
Unlike the Hawks, the Mammoth have played a different opponent since Monday night, as they were shut out 5-0 by the Minnesota Wild on the road on Tuesday night, which means Utah will probably be aggravated and looking to get a win at home against a beatable opponent in Chicago. The Mammoth still sit comfortably in the first wild card spot with 73 points and are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games. One news item for Utah this week is that center Nick Schmaltz was signed to an eight-year deal with an annual cap hit of $8 million on Wednesday. Defenseman Mikhail Sergachev is the only injury to report as he is listed day-to-day and hasn’t played since March 3, a 3-1 Utah victory over the Washington Capitals. But what’s been ailing the Mammoth as of late?
Utah’s lineup from their last game:
Looking to finish the road trip strong. pic.twitter.com/VyDkVTYilb
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) March 10, 2026
Utah arguably played down to their opponent on Monday night when they lost to the Blackhawks. They followed that effort up with a back-to-back against one of the best teams in the NHL — the Minnesota Wild. Utah actually played decent hockey for two periods (above a 50 percent share of the expected goals through the first two periods), but Minnesota goaltender Filip Gustavsson was that much better. He stopped all six high-danger scoring chances and all 25 shots on goal. Nearly every goal that Utah allowed featured poor defensive positioning and not-so-great goaltending. The third period was especially bad for the Mammoth, as Minnesota owned 78.81 percent of the expected goals. Mammoth goaltender Karel Vejmelka finished the night with an .833 save percentage. So what can the Hawks take away from that?
There are a couple of nuggets here. The Blackhawks have the speed across the lineup to capitalize on poorly timed pinches and turnovers in their end that lead to Chicago’s possession of the puck. Perhaps the only question is whether the Hawks can maintain offensive zone pressure for the full 60. They can build that by sending two forwards on the puck in a 2-1-2 offensive zone forecheck, and the F3 playing lower in the zone instead of hanging out by the blue line. The Blackhawks’ defense will need to minimize mistakes that lead to defensive zone breakdowns, especially since Arvid Soderblom is starting. Both goals against the Hawks on Monday night were due to poor puck management on the breakout. An aggressive offensive zone forecheck, sustained offensive zone pressure, and smart puck management will be keys to a Chicago victory.
#Blackhawks lineup at practice:
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) March 11, 2026
Greene-Bedard-Burakovsky
Bertuzzi-Nazar-Teravainen
Mangiapane-Donato-Mikheyev
Lardis-Lafferty-Slaggert
Vlasic-Crevier
Kaiser-Rinzel
Grzelcyk-Levshunov
Del Mastro
Knight
Soderblom
Commesso
Out: Moore (lower body)
Utah will not be taking the night off. Building a three-game losing streak isn’t the sort of momentum they’d like to carry as their schedule increases in difficulty. But for Chicago, they’d like to see their young players step up, including Nick Lardis, who only played 7:18 on Monday night. Playoffs are nearly out of the question for Chicago, but seeing noticeable on-ice improvements from the kids is an absolute necessity.
Let’s go Hawks.
Tale of the Tape
Blackhawks — Statistic — Mammoth
46.40% (29th) — 5-on-5 Corsi For — 52.91% (5th)
44.18% (32nd) — 5-on-5 Expected goals for — 53% (5th)
2.64 (27th) — Goals per game — 3.12 (16th)
3.16 (22nd) — Goals against per game — 2.78 (6th)
46.6% (30th) — Faceoffs — 49.5% (19th)
19.4% (20th) — Power play — 16.7% (27th)
85.5% (1st) — Penalty kill — 78.6% (19th)
(All stats from this season)
How to watch
When: 8 p.m. CT
Where: Delta Center, Salt Lake City
TV: CHSN
Webstream: ESPN+
Radio: WGN 720