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

As one group returned from its rest, another group took a seat in the press box. To their credit, those getting today off did a wonderful job in Chicago, so it was a well-earned game off for them. With the stars and the captains back on the ice against a very solid Utah team, the goal was very simple: win and stay healthy. If they could do both things, or just stay healthy, it would be a trip well spent for the team. Frederik Andersen getting back-to-back starts threw me for a bit of a loop, but I can't complain after what he did against the Blackhawks. Hopefully, Rod Brind'Amour knows what he is doing there.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

CAR (4:25-PP)- Andrei Svechnikov (31) (Nikolaj Ehlers (43) & Shayne Gostisbehere (36)

CAR (13:23)- Jordan Staal (20) (Nikolaj Ehlers (44) & Jordan Martinook (16))

2nd Period

None

3rd Period

UTH (2:42-PP)- Dylan Guenther (40) (Clayton Keller (58) & Mikhail Sergachev (48))

CAR (15:31)- Sebastian Aho (27) (Shayne Gostisbehere (37) & Jaccob Slavin (7))

CAR (19:37-EN)- Sean Walker (9) (Jordan Martinook (17) & Jordan Staal (16))

My Thoughts

A little extra rest does the body good at this point in the season. After the Canes surprised us all by sitting a good chunk of their roster on Thursday, they did the same today, only swapping the rested bodies for the big contributors in Chicago. With this extra rest, they played a very strong game in Utah. Three of the four goals came from players returning to the lineup, and all of them were monumental in some way. Andrei Svechnikov opened it on the power play, setting a new career high in goals (31) and points (70). Jordan Staal added to it, scoring his 20th goal to reach that number for the first time since 2015-16, and he added an assist. Sebastian Aho put the game away late in the third, redirecting a shot to record his 80th point. Jordan Martinook had two assists, and Jaccon Slavin had one, too, bringing the total to seven points for those five players. Not bad. 

Their effort in this game didn't fully convey how good a team I think the Utah Mammoth are. The Canes deserve a ton of credit for keeping them quiet for most of the game. However, there were moments when Utah was pushing, and it felt like they were one move away from getting back into it. Alexander Nikishin was bailed out by a successful challenge after Clayton Keller scored in the first. The Canes came off their discipline late in the first period, taking two unnecessary penalties. Fortunately, they were killed off. It got them in trouble again when Dylan Guenther scored for real on the power play. Utah was in this game until the bitter end. The Canes dodged a serious bullet. 

A big reason for that was Frederik Andersen's work, who proved why none of us should question the roster decisions this team makes. He was even better tonight than he was in Chicago, making 26 stops on 27 shots. None of them were as awe-inspiring as the ones he made on Thursday, but they didn't need to be. He made the stops that needed to be made to keep Utah from gaining any momentum. The goal against was a weird one, with Andersen making the initial stop before losing it after his glove hit Logan Cooley's knee. Eventually, it ended up in the net. Otherwise, Andersen was lights out, guiding the team to a third straight win.

With today's win, the Carolina Hurricanes have 52 wins and 110 points, both of which are the most in the Eastern Conference. By earning two more points, the Hurricanes have put themselves in a very good position. That position was helped today by the Columbus Blue Jackets, who beat the Montreal Canadiens in regulation. The Canes own a four-point lead over Buffalo, while Montreal and Tampa Bay are no longer in contention for the top spot in the East. The Canes need one of two things to happen. They either need to earn one point over their final two contests, or the Sabres need to lose a game in any fashion. The best that Buffalo can do is tie the Hurricanes, but that would be enough for them to win the East because they own the tiebreaker. Buffalo has 41 regulation wins, while the Hurricanes have just 38. That is why a Buffalo stumble is so important. Or, the Canes could just do the job themselves and get to 111 points. Either way would be fine with me.

First Star of the Game: Frederik Andersen

I should know better than to assume who will be in the net on a given day. It would've made complete sense for the team to put Brandon Bussi out there. Instead, Frederik Andersen went again, and he was excellent. He kept a very powerful team in check for most of the night, and he made it look pretty easy. If the season ended today, he would be my Game 1 starter, which feels like a crazy statement after what we've seen this season.

Around the League

Philadelphia: The Flyers must really want to make the playoffs because they destroyed the Jets, 7-1, in Winnipeg to maintain their hold on the third spot in the Metro.

New York: Meanwhile, the Islanders might be cooked after being held off the scoreboard by Linus Ullmark and the Senators on home ice.

Columbus: The Blue Jackets might still have a thing or two to say about the final playoff spot, getting an excellent performance all around to beat the Canadiens.

Washington: While we were robbed of the 100th meeting between Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, the Capitals made them pay by scoring six times in a 6-3 win to open their home-and-home.

Current Standings

Third in the Metro

Philadelphia: 93 Points (26 RW; 2 GR: vs. CAR & vs. MTL)

Columbus: 92 Points (28 RW; 2 GR: vs. BOS & vs. WSH)

Washington: 91 Points (35 RW; 2 GR: vs. PIT & at CBJ)

New York: 91 Points (29 RW; 2 GR: vs. MTL & vs. CAR)

Next Up: The Carolina Hurricanes have two games left in the regular season. They'll be in Philadelphia on Monday before closing out the season against the Islanders on Tuesday. From there, the march to the Stanley Cup will begin.