2025-26 Regular Season, Game 80 Preview: Carolina Hurricanes at Utah Mammoth

Last Game: The Carolina Hurricanes rested almost half of their normal roster, and they still beat the Chicago Blackhawks like they stole something on Thursday to open their final road trip of the season. Sean Walker broke the ice, needing just 19 seconds to get the Canes off and rolling. Anton Frondell got the Hawks even, and Andrew Mangiapane would've given them the lead if not for the skate blade of Frederik Andersen. Late in the opening frame, Logan Stankoven joined the 20-goal club with a beautiful steal and tuck over Spencer Knight's shoulder. The Canes ballooned the lead from there. Stankoven scored his second of the game early in the second with a rebound finish. Mark Jankowski redirected Alexander Nikishin's wrister with a subtle tip to make it 4-1 after two. K'Andre Miller joined the party by clapping a one-timer after coming out of the box. Frondell scored his second of the game 22 seconds later, but Taylor Hall got one against his old team to restore the four-goal lead. To finish the night, Jankowski scored his second of the game, finishing a 7-2 trouncing. Stankoven added a helper to his two goals. William Carrier had three assists for his first three-point game in the NHL. Nicolas Deslauriers recorded his first point as a Hurricane. Andersen finished with 23 stops. It was all Carolina all the time. 

Injury Report
Jalen Chatfield: As one of several players not on the ice for Thursday's game, it's unclear what his status will be, and the Canes aren't practicing on Friday, so we really won't know until Saturday.

The Opponent: Utah Mammoth (42-30-6, 90 Points; 4th in the Central Division)
Last Meeting: For most of their visit to Raleigh in late January, it felt like the Mammoth were going to hand the Hurricanes a loss on home ice. Andrei Svechnikov scored in the first period, but the Mammoth's fourth line took over in the second. Kailor Yamamoto scored twice in just over four minutes to put Utah ahead. Shayne Gostisbehere got them even on the power play, but JJ Peterka scored 19 seconds later to ruin the mood. Michael Carcone added another in the third, putting the Mammoth up by two with time wasting away. With 2:00 left, that lead remained. With 1:59 left, Andrei Svechnikov cut it to one. With 1:27 left, Gostisbehere's second of the night tied it. With less than 30 seconds left, Jordan Staal completed the seemingly improbable comeback. The Canes stormed all the way back to conquer the Mammoth in regulation with a 5-4 win. Svechnikov, Gostisbehere, and Yamamoto finished with two goals and an assist each in a stunning finish at the Lenovo Center. 

Since We Last Met: Thanks to a five-game winning streak, during which their offense has been nearly unstoppable, the Utah Mammoth secured a playoff spot on Thursday night, bringing playoff hockey to Salt Lake City for the first time ever. It's a shame that they're stuck in the Central Division because the win ensured that they'd likely finish in the top Wild Card spot, giving them the Pacific Division champs as a consolation prize. This means either the two-time defending Western Conference champions, the 2023 Stanley Cup champions, or the upstart Anaheim Ducks. During their ongoing winning streak, the Mammoth are outscoring their opponents 29-14, averaging just under six goals per contest. This Utah squad is a wagon, led by leading scorer and captain Clayton Keller (29-57-83). Dylan Guenther is on the verge of a 40-goal campaign, and Nick Schmaltz has 13 points over his last 11 contests. Logan Cooley has also been on fire since returning from an injury (11 points during his six-game point streak). The biggest surprise has been their defensive abilities. Karel Vejmelka is backing the fourth-best defensive unit in the league. His 37 wins are tops in the NHL, as are his 61 games played.  

Stories to Watch
1. How does each team handle load management?
With both Carolina and Utah in the playoffs and (for the most part in Carolina's case) locked into their spots, I'm not expecting a full roster for tonight's contest on either side. I think that's especially true for the Canes, though I might be speaking out of turn for the Mammoth. They very well could go with their entire roster against the Canes, which would put the Canes in a much different situation than they were in against Chicago on Thursday. Utah is a scary team. Their entire roster against a modified Carolina squad could spell trouble for the Canes. 

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