The Nashville Predators continue the longest road trip of their season with a visit to Salt Lake City on Monday to face the Utah Mammoth.
Monday’s game is the third stop on the Predators’ seven-game trip, which was interrupted by the NHL’s Christmas break. Nashville returned to action in Saturday’s 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues, and never led in the game despite a 32-20 shots advantage.
Predators coach Andrew Brunette felt his team lacked sharpness playing for the first time in four days.
“I think it was probably your biggest worry coming in, some guys still on Christmas break … everybody’s paddle wasn’t in full tilt here a little bit,” Brunette said. “I thought we eased into the game, thought we got going in different stretches and we made some mental mistakes off the rush that killed us.”
The Mammoth could potentially face the same rust issue Monday. Utah hasn’t played since Dec. 23, when the team lost a narrow 1-0 result to the league-leading Colorado Avalanche.
The extended rest could help Karel Vejmelka, as the goalie was a late scratch from last Tuesday’s lineup due to an upper-body injury.
Vitek Vanecek would get another start against the Predators if Vejmelka is unable to play. The Mammoth had no update as of Sunday night.
“I don’t know, I’m no doctor,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said Dec. 23 when asked if Vejmelka’s injury could linger. “They will figure it out, but they seemed to be positive about it, but I didn’t have an in-depth conversation.”
Vejmelka and Predators goalie Juuse Saros have been workhorses this season, and both goalies are tied for second in the NHL with 29 games played. Saros is expected to start again Monday, looking to bounce back after stopping only 17 of 20 shots at St. Louis.
Saros is 14-12-3 with a 2.92 goals-against average and an .898 save percentage this season.
Vanecek has a 2.81 GAA and an .882 save percentage with a 2-8-1 record in 11 appearances spelling Vejmelka.
On Nashville’s health front, forward Jonathan Marchesseault is questionable for Monday. Marchesseault has missed the Predators’ last four games due to a lower-body injury.
The Predators are 6-8-2 in away games, tied for the second-fewest (14) road points in the league. The Mammoth haven’t really gotten rolling on home ice, with a modest 9-6-1 home record.
After an ugly 6-12-4 start to the season, Nashville is 10-5-0 in its last 15 games. The Predators haven’t had consecutive losses since a three-game losing streak from Nov. 16-24.
Utah burst out of the gates with a season-opening 8-2-0 record, then slumped to a 4-10-3 mark over its next 17 games. The Mammoth have since gone an even 6-6-0.
Amidst this inconsistent season, the two constants for the Mammoth have been a struggling power play and an ability to limit opposing scoring chances. Utah’s 15% power-play percentage (17-for-113) is near the bottom of the NHL standings, but the Mammoth have held opponents to an elite average of 25.1 shots per game.
Nick Schmaltz and Clayton Keller share the Mammoth team lead with 32 points apiece, each with 12 goals and 20 assists. Dylan Guenther leads Utah with 16 goals, and Mikhail Sergachev has a team-high 21 assists.
Ryan O’Reilly paces Nashville in both assists (21) and points (32). Filip Forsberg is the Predators’ leading scorer with 16 goals.
In their first meeting of the season, the Mammoth earned a 3-2 overtime win over the Predators in Nashville on Oct. 11.
