The Chicago Blackhawks host the Utah Mammoth on Monday night as the two play for their second of three meetings in March.
The Blackhawks last played the Mammoth on March 1, which was also the last time the Hawks won a game (a 4-0 shutout win for Arvid Soderblom). Utah made a large splash ahead of the trade deadline by trading for defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, sending Olli Maatta, forward prospect Jonathan Castagna, and three second-round picks in the 2026 draft to the Calgary Flames in return. The 32-year-old, right-handed defenseman provides stability for the Mammoth’s top pair. Since Utah’s loss to Chicago last Sunday, they’ve been on a three-game winning streak to improve their record to 6-4-0 in their last 10 games and sit in the first wild card spot in the West with 72 points. Other than that, most of what was said on March 1 still applies to Utah ahead of tonight. Below was their last lineup in a 5-4 overtime win against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Weegar is in! pic.twitter.com/izJZA38PHx
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) March 7, 2026
For the Hawks, well, at least they scored their first 6-on-5 goal of the season in their 4-3 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars on Sunday. With Spencer Knight still out (whatever “taking a twirl” might mean), Drew Commesso will get his third start of the season. Commesso’s last game was a 36-save shutout against the Nashville Predators on Jan. 10.
Jeff Blashill says Spencer Knight "took a bit of a twirl" and will not be available tonight
— Mario Tirabassi (@Mario_Tirabassi) March 9, 2026
Arvid Soderblom and Drew Commesso are the goalies, expect Commesso to start tonight
Oliver Moore is still out with no updates to his status beyond Blashill’s confirmation that he will not play in this game. Moore missed the remainder of Sunday’s game after crashing into the boards on Sam Rinzel’s third career goal in the first period. Moore had been the Hawks’ 3C, and now that hole needs to be addressed. Both Jason Dickinson and Nick Foligno were traded last week, so it’ll be interesting to see how Jeff Blashill addresses this. With no morning skate on Monday after Sunday’s game, we won’t know that answer until the pregame skate.
The expectation was for the Mammoth to win their last game against the Blackhawks. They possess better puck possession stats (they’re now fifth in shot attempt share and expected goals for) than the Hawks, so a 4-0 loss to Chicago was a bit of a surprise. Chicago has struggled to generate and maintain offensive zone time — their shot attempt percentage at 5-on-5 is 46.28 percent over the last three games. That’s partially because the breakout has seen the Hawks stuck in their end for stretches, and beyond Connor Bedard, there still hasn’t been much help. Maybe the Hawks surprise us with a win.
Let’s go Hawks.
Tale of the Tape
Blackhawks — Statistic — Mammoth
46.33% (29th) — 5-on-5 Corsi For — 53.08% (5th)
43.92% (32nd) — 5-on-5 Expected goals for — 53.34% (5th)
2.63 (27th) — Goals per game — 3.19 (14th)
3.17 (20th) — Goals against per game — 2.75 (4th)
46.5% (30th) — Faceoffs — 49.6% (19th)
19.2% (21st) — Power play — 17.1% (26th)
85.3% (1st) — Penalty kill — 78.2% (20th)
(All stats from this season)
How to watch
When: 7:30 p.m. CT
Where: United Center, Chicago
TV: CHSN
Webstream: ESPN+
Radio: WGN 720