The Utah Mammoth opened their 2026-27 season looking unbelievably strong, taking down Central Division rival the Chicago Blackhawks 6-0 to start the season.
Here are the winners of losers after Utah's first game:
Winner: Dylan Guenther
For the third straight season, Dylan Guenther scored Utah's first goal. Guenther went on to add another goal later in the game to really beat down on the Blackhawks.
One of the biggest questions was whether Guenther could keep scoring a ton of goals. He's only played one game, but he's already shown his goal-scoring ability. If Guenther continues to look like this, then the Mammoth will be a force to be reckoned with.
Loser: The Blackhawk offense
Across two games, the biggest question the Hawks will try to answer seems to be: "When will Connor Bedard return?" With him out, Chicago's offense has looked terrible. In game one of the season, the Blackhawks' offense struggled as they were defeated by the Vegas Golden Knights 5-2.
Last night things got even worse for Chicago, however. The Blackhawks managed to scrape together just 15 shots on goal and created very little offense.
Worse, Chicago totaled only 12 hits to Utah's 42. The Blackhawks also won only 27.8% of the faceoffs against Utah. Losing this badly in these critical stat areas shows just how badly the Hawks were outmatched.
Few expected Chicago to make any noise in 2026-27. Through two games, Chicago is only solidifying those claims.
Winner: The second line
The second line's offense looked very good, as expected. The second line included Anders Lee, Logan Cooley, and, of course, Guenther.
The new addition, Lee, scored a goal Thursday night with assists from defenseman Andrew Peeke and Dmitri Simashev (the second-line defenseman). While Cooley didn't score any points, he showcased some speed and very nice talent.
The combination of Cooley, Guenther, and Lee on the second line looked deadly heading into the 2026-27 season. Well, in game one, they lived up to that expectation. The amount of chances that the second line can create and convert will continue to be a big part of this season.
Loser: The Central Division
The Central Division juggernauts, the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, and Minnesota Wild were hoping not to see another team compete for the division.
It's too early to say that Utah is already threatening those teams. However, it ran the Blackhawks out of the Delta Center. It destroyed the Blackhawks so badly it felt like the Mammoth were taking on the Rockford Icehogs.
Starting the season in such a dominant way is one way to declare to the NHL world that Utah is ready to compete.
One game is one game. But the Mammoth don't look like the same old team they used to be. Watch out.
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