The Utah Mammoth's first homestand will come to an end this evening, when the Colorado Avalanche visit for a Central Division clash. The two teams opened the season on October 9th in Colorado where the Avalanche defeated Utah by a score of 2-1, with Dylan Guenther scoring the lone goal.
The Avalanche have yet to lose a game in regulation this season, and Utah is undefeated at home with a 3-0 record. Something may have to break this evening. At 4-2, Utah sits in second place behind the Avalanche for the top of the Central Division.
Nick Schmaltz is on fire with a hat trick against the San Jose Sharks and is leading the team in points with 9. Expect to see a rested Karel Vejmelka in between the pipes tonight after Vitek Vanecek earned his first victory with the Mammoth against the Boston Bruins.
Colorado is being led by their top line as Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas are tied for the team lead in points with 10. MacKinnon already has 6 goals on the season and will be a handful for the Mammoth defense this evening. Secondary scoring has been hard to find from the Avalanche, as Gabriel Landeskog and Brock Nelson have just 4 points combined. Artturi Lehkonen is off to a fine start with 7 points after scoring 27 goals last season.
On defense, Cale Makar continues to produce with 2 goals and 7 points, but his defensive partner, Jonathan Toews, has yet to record a point. Newcomer Brent Burns is enjoying a youthful resurgence, scoring 4 points and averaging more than 20 minutes per game.
In goal, Scott Wedgewood has taken the load, starting all 6 games and registering an impressive 1.48 GAA with a .938 save percentage. MacKenzie Blackwood is making his way back from an injury and will help with the load.
The Avalanche will have a game on Thursday so it should be enough time for Wedgewood to make the start this evening after defeating the Bruins last Saturday.
For Utah, they will head to St. Louis to play the Blues on Thursday before a packed weekend against the Minnesota Wild and the Winnipeg Jets. The Mammoth will not return to the Delta Center until November, when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning on the 2nd of the month.