Karel Vejmelka #70 of the Utah Mammoth misses the save while Marcus Johansson #90 of the Minnesota Wild, obscured at right, scores a goal in the first period of a game at Grand Casino Arena on October 25, 2025 in St Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Ellen Schmidt/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ellen Schmidt/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – On the second half of a back-to-back in Minnesota, the Utah Mammoth wrapped up their five-game road trip with a shutout loss to the Wild.
Facing a star-studded hockey club desperately seeking revenge, Utah was dominated in every facet of the game as they were bested by Minnesota 5-0.
Here are the key takeaways from Utah’s loss to the Wild.
After losing five straight games to the Mammoth dating back to last season, the Minnesota Wild finally discovered the winning recipe to best Utah in regulation.
In addition to an overwhelming forecheck, the Wild continuously disrupted Utah’s zone entries, finished all their checks, drew early penalties and moved the puck with pace at both ends.
Why was that combination Utah’s kryptonite?
As a team that prides themselves offensively on speed and finesse, Minnesota simply refused to allow the Mammoth to settle into their game.
With an inability to smoothly enter the zone or retrieve the puck, the Mammoth couldn’t utilize their speed or skill to break down the defense.
By overwhelming their opponents physically, Minnesota kept the puck out of their own zone and forced Utah to defend for a majority of the night.
Additionally, by drawing early penalties, the Wild also flattened Utah’s confidence and rhythm as they were forced to chase the puck for six minutes in the first period.
“Minnesota is a good team, we need to give them credit,” Head coach Andre Tourigny said.
“They were waiting for us. They know what happened both times we played this year. They were ready.”
KIRILL KAPRIZOV SCORES FROM ONE KNEE! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/NclS0dNJgH
— NHL (@NHL) March 11, 2026
FROM 90 TO 12 pic.twitter.com/kcGQYITxch
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) March 11, 2026
FIRST GOAL AS A WILD pic.twitter.com/XT96DcpYba
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) March 11, 2026
For Utah, they need to avoid that kind of performance as much as possible over the remaining 17 games.
It was likely a scheduled loss anyway, but to wave the white flag in the first period and refuse to make adjustments is a dangerous game to play at a time when every point is precious.
Despite a disappointing conclusion at the hands of the Wild, Utah’s five-game road trip was still incredibly successful.
To claim seven of 10 possible points on the road after a poor initial home stand returning from the Olympics required maturity and grit.
Rather than allowing themselves to be shaken by two brutal losses at home, Utah bounced back with resolve.
Impressively, they punched the Capitals and Flyers in the mouth right out of the gate, outlasted the Blue Jackets in an OT thriller and still managed a point against the Blackhawks.
Of course, two points against Chicago would’ve been ideal and their performance against Minnesota left a lot to be desired.
But anybody in the organization would’ve been ecstatic to know they’d pick up seven points over the course of a fairly lengthy and difficult road trip.
“It’s a really good trip,” Head coach Andre Tourigny said.
“Before the trip, if you would’ve said seven points out of ten…there’s a lot of positive there.”
That’s what it takes the make the playoffs.
As long as Utah continues to play with that same resolve most nights down the stretch, they’ll be just fine.
Heading into the final month of the regular season, Utah is honestly right where they should be.
Top of the wild card race with 73 points through 65 games and approximately a 90 percent chance to make the postseason.
What’s it going to take to get there?
Fewer performances like the one against Minnesota and more like how they approached Washington and Philadelphia.
With 17 games left, Utah needs to win a minimum of eight or nine to stay on course and put themselves in a good spot to get in.
However, based on the historical 95-point threshold, 11 wins would be the ideal number that would likely guarantee a spot.
Taking a closer look at their schedule, the Mammoth have to take care of business against the more favorable opponents on their schedule.
That means at least five wins over the likes of Chicago, Nashville, Calgary, Winnipeg, Vancouver and St. Louis.
Ideally, beating the teams beneath them (Seattle & Los Angeles) should also be considered must-win situations.
Those are swing games that would provide Utah with even more breathing room in a tight wild card race.
As for the remaining matchups, the Mammoth will need to find a way to somehow go .500 against Pittsburgh, Dallas, Vegas, Anaheim, Washington, Carolina and Edmonton twice.
It’s doable.
But they must approach the majority of those games with the right mindset to get it done.
The Utah Mammoth will begin a short two game home stand against the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. MT.
The game will be available on Mammoth+.
All Mammoth games will also be broadcast live on the KSL Sports Zone (97.5 FM/1280 AM).
