The show goes on the road for the Utah Mammoth as they look to extend their winning streak to 5 games. Utah starts a 4-game road trip tonight in St. Louis to face the Central Division rival Blues. The Blues sit below the Mammoth in the early part of the season with a 3-2-1 record. After the recent success, Utah is tied for second place with a 5-2 record.
The Blues are coming off a 2-1 overtime defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings. Tonight will be the end of a 4-game homestand for St. Louis, and a victory tonight could make it a .500 homestand.
St. Louis has struggled to score this season, having 16 goals in 6 games, which is better than just the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference. Jake Neighbours has led the way with 4 goals. Jimmy Snuggerud has 3 goals, but beyond newcomer Pius Suter with 2 goals, no one else on the team has multiple goals in the young season.
It is hard to envision Jordan Kyrou not getting involved in the offensive production sooner or later, so the Utah defense will need to be vigilant in watching him. A familiar face will be on the opposition this evening in Nick Bjugstad. The former Utah player will provide some physicality and is always a threat in front of the net.
On defense, the Blues do not have much offensive production yet, with only Tyler Tucker registering more than 2 points. Justin Faulk is always a threat on the man advantage.
Mainstay, Jordan Binnington has had an average start to the season after excelling in the Four Nations Tournament for Team Canada last season. He has 2 wins and a subpar .894 save percentage.
Dylan Guenther will look to build off the emotional overtime goal to defeat the Colorado Avalanche, while Nick Schmaltz continues to be on fire with another goal against Colorado, bringing him up to 10 points on the season to lead the Mammoth.