February 26, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Minnesota Wild left winger Matt Boldy (12) skates with the puck toward an open net in the third period during a game against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Image The Utah Mammoths will look to bring a faster pace to the game when they take on the Minnesota Wild in Salt Lake City on Friday night.
Utah opened its Olympic break schedule with a 4-2 loss at home to the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday.
Dylan Guenther scored twice and Karel Vejmelka made 22 saves for Utah, which earned back-to-back wins before the break.
“We played a good team, but I didn’t like our effort. I didn’t like how physical we were.” Utah coach Andre Turini said. “I thought we didn’t have the speed we should have in our zone and in pre-checks. I don’t think we were the fastest team tonight. That’s what makes us special. We need to realize that and be a lot better next game.”
Mammoth forward Logan Cooley returned to the lineup after missing 28 games with a lower-body injury and recorded an assist in the loss.
“I’m excited to be back with the guys,” Cooley said. “It’s not fun to sit in the stands and watch them. It felt like a long trip. It took a lot of effort. … It felt good to be back.”
Captain Clayton Keller leads Utah with 38 assists and 55 points in 58 games, while Guenter leads the team with 27 points in 56 games.
The Mammoths, sitting fourth in the Central Division, have the top spot in the Western Conference Wild Card division. They are 11-4-1 in their last 16 games and 17-9-2 on home ice this season.
“We haven’t played in a while so we want to play good,” Guenther said of Wednesday’s loss. “I didn’t have an A game yet, so I thought I did better in the third (period) as long as I played my B game well.”
Friday’s game will be the second of three meetings between the Mammoth and Wild. Utah upset Minnesota 6-2 on October 25 in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The Wild travel to Utah for the second game of a back-to-back set after a 5-2 win over the Avalanche in Denver on Thursday.
“I thought the guys prepared well, whether they were in the Olympics or not,” Wild coach John Hines said. “I thought everyone came together and played well. Now we have another big game (Friday) against Utah. I think it’s definitely good and important for us to get the win. Now we can build from there.”
Matt Boldy scored twice and added two assists, Joel Eriksson Ek had a goal and Mats Zucccarello has won his sixth straight game and is 9-1-1 over his last 11 games.
Kirill Kaprizov had two assists as the Wild improved to 18-8-3 on the road, taking second place in the Central Division.
Filip Gustavsson was substituted late in the third quarter after making 44 saves before throwing up a goal wrinkle. Jesper Wallstedt took over and allowed one goal on two shots in 1:04 of relief.
Wallstedt, who is likely to be Friday’s starting pitcher, has a record of 14-5-4, a save percentage of 0.913, and a goals-against average of 2.76 in 24 games (23 starts) this season. He has never faced Utah in his career.
–Field level media
