The Chicago Blackhawks (0-2-1) wrap up their quick two-game homestand and look for their first win of the 2025-26 season against the Utah Mammoth (1-1-0) at the United Center on Monday night.
Last time out, the Blackhawks were shorthanded a ridiculous ten times and surrendered the game-winning goal with only 15 seconds remaining in a 3-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. That was a tough way to end an otherwise exciting home opener at the UC. Chicago has now lost by one goal in each of the first three games.
On the bright side, Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar continued to lead the charge offensively against the Habs. Bedard found the back of the net for the second consecutive game, while Nazar had a multi-point performance for the second time already this season. Nazar now leads the Blackhawks with five points (1G, 4A) and has recorded at least one point in all three contests. He’s just the fifth Blackhawks player, age 21 or younger, in the past 40 seasons to begin the year with a three-game point streak.
Utah concludes its three-game road trip to begin the 2025-26 season at the United Center. The Mammoth opened the year with a 2-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche last Thursday, but they rebounded in their following game against the Nashville Predators to earn a 3-2 (OT) win on Saturday.
Dylan Guenther has scored in each of the team’s opening two games, including the overtime winner versus the Predators. Guenther is currently Utah’s leading point-scorer with three points (2G, 1A). Former Blackhawks first-round pick Nick Schmaltz is the only other member of the Mammoth to have tallied a point in both games.
Karel Vejmelka has started both games in net for Utah, posting a 1-1 record with a 1.99 GAA and .918 Sv%. That sets up Vitek Vanacek to make his first appearance with the Mammoth against the Blackhawks.
Here’s everything to note before the puck drops tonight in Chicago at 7:30 p.m. CT.
2024-25 Results vs. Mammoth
The Blackhawks dropped three of the four meetings against the Mammoth (formerly known as the Utah Hockey Club) in the 2024-25 campaign, including the season opener in Utah’s first game as a franchise.
10/08/24 5-2 L, Delta Center
02/25/25 2-1 L, Delta Center
03/07/25 4-3 OTW, United Center
03/30/25 5-2 L, United Center
Projected Blackhawks Lineup
Forward Lines
Colton Dach-Connor Bedard-Andre Burakovsky
Teuvo Teravainen-Frank Nazar-Tyler Bertuzzi
Ryan Donato-Ryan Greene*-Ilya Mikheyev
Nick Foligno-Lukas Reichel-Sam Lafferty*
Defensive Pairings
Alex Vlasic-Sam Rinzel
Matt Grzelcyk-Connor Murphy
Wyatt Kaiser-Louis Crevier
Scratched
D – Artyom Levshunov
Injured
F – Joey Anderson (lower body), G – Laurent Brossoit (hip), F — Jason Dickinson (upper body)*, F – Landon Slaggert (lower body)
***
After missing Saturday’s home opener, Dickinson participated in the morning skate on Monday and will be a game-time decision against the Mammoth. Dickinson exited Thursday’s game against the Boston Bruins with an upper-body injury and wasn’t able to return. Head coach Jeff Blashill said on Saturday that the veteran center is expected to miss roughly one week, so this is a positive development just two days later. If Dickinson returns against the Mammoth, he’ll center the third line with Donato and Mikheyev. Lafferty would then be bumped out of the lineup.
Defensively, Levshunov looks to be a healthy scratch for the second consecutive game. It’s been an up-and-down past few weeks for Levshunov, dating back to the start of training camp and the preseason. Crevier, who scored a goal in his season debut versus Boston and then dropped the gloves versus Kaiden Guhle against Montreal, is expected to slot into the third defensive pairing alongside Wyatt Kaiser.
Projected Mammoth Lineup
Forward Lines
Clayton Keller-Barrett Hayton-Nick Schmaltz
Dylan Guenther-Logan Cooley-J.J. Peterka
Lawson Crouse-Jack McBain-Michael Carcone
Brandon Tanev-Kevin Stenlund-Kailer Yamamoto
Defensive Pairings
Mikhail Sergachev-Olli Maatta
Nate Schmidt-John Marino
Ian Cole-Dmitri Simashev
Scratched
F — Andrew Agozzino, D — Nick DeSimone
Injured
F — Alex Kerfoot (lower body), D — Sean Durzi (upper body), F — Liam O’Brien (lower body)
GOALTENDING MATCHUP
Vitek Vanacek (5-14-4, 3.62 GAA, .884 Sv%, 1 SO in 2024-25) vs. Spencer Knight (0-2-0, 3.03 GAA, .908 Sv%, 0 SO)
Knight will make his third start of the 2025-26 season against the Mammoth. The 24-year-old netminder stopped 36 of 39 shots faced (.923 Sv%) to help steer the Blackhawks to their lone win over Utah last season in just his second start with the team after being acquired from Florida.
Vanacek has yet to play in the Mammoth’s opening two games after signing a one-year deal with the club in free agency this summer. The 29-year-old Czech goaltender is 3-1-1 with a 2.19 GAA, .920 Sv%, and one shutout in five career starts against the Blackhawks.
How To Watch, Listen, & Game Info
Utah Mammoth (1-1-0) @ Chicago Blackhawks (0-2-1)
7:30 p.m. CT — United Center
TV/Stream: CHSN, Utah16, ESPN+
Radio: WGN 720 AM, Blackhawks App
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