The Utah Mammoth is coming off an energetic win to open the home schedule on Wednesday against the Calgary Flames. The Delta Center was rocking and will be rocking tonight when the Mammoth hosts the San Jose Sharks. It will be a battle of the Central Division against the Pacific Division.
The Sharks are winless to begin the season, but have two OT losses to salvage 2 points on the season. The incredibly young San Jose squad has some firepower with Macklin Celebrini leading the way after being drafted first overall in the 2024 NHL Draft.
William Eklund and Will Smith round out the young, forward core. Last summer, the Sharks drafted another star center at the NHL Draft with the second overall pick. Michael Misa is a rookie feeling out the NHL, but he will always be a threat. The veteran, Tyler Toffoli, provides scoring depth and a great shot on the man advantage.
Two newcomers to San Jose have started the season with a bang as Dmitry Orlov and Jeff Skinner lead the team in goals and assists. Skinner has 2 goals, and on defense, Orlov has 3 assists. This Sharks team is much improved from last year and will provide a threat to the goaltender, Karel Vejmelka.
The Sharks hosted the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday and fell by a score of 5-1. The undefeated Carolina club took it to the youth and peppered goalie Alex Nedeljkovic with 43 shots. Eklund scored the loan goal for the Sharks after registering a career high of 58 points last season.
Dylan Guenther will look to continue his solid start to the season tonight, leading the Mammoth in goals and points with 2 and 4. JJ Peterka has been as advertised, with 2 goals, including a big goal in the home opening victory.
Vejmelka will look to build on a solid performance against the Flames and get the Mammoth on a winning streak. It appears that Liam O'Brien will be entering the lineup for Kailer Yamamoto. Yamamoto has been playing solid and even finding some minutes on the power play. O'Brien will be sure to face off against veteran enforcer Ryan Reaves.
Personally, I would not mess with a winning lineup just to have a goon-on-goon fight. Yamamoto needs to build his game, and his speed has been beneficial in the first 4 games. The blue line will be busy with the young Sharks forwards, and expect to see Mikhail Sergachev play close to 25 minutes.