The Nashville Predators hosted the Utah Mammoth at the Bridgestone Arena on Saturday night.
Both teams had one game under their belts coming into this game. The Mammoth came out on the losing end of a 2-1 game against the Colorado Avalanche, while the Nashville Predators came out victors in a 2-1 game versus the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Game Recap
The Mammoth came out with the early scoring chances, getting the first three shots of the game. On the third, Dylan Guenther found Logan Cooley, who capped off the two-on-one opportunity, beating Juuse Saros for his first goal of the season less than three minutes in.
Five minutes later, Filip Forsberg made a strong play to take the puck to the net to score his first goal this season, beating Karel Vejmelka’s glove side on a shot he likely wants back. Brady Martin, the Predators’ fifth overall draft pick from 2025, assisted on the goal. It was his first career NHL point.
After the hot start, the scoring slowed right down until midway through the second period, when Erik Haula broke the tie with his first goal as a Predator, digging one past Vejmelka.
The Predators carried this 2-1 lead and a minute on the man advantage into the third period. On the power play to open the period, 26 seconds in, the Predators’ captain, Roman Josi, found the back of the net. However, the goal was called back for offside after a review, and the lead stayed at one.
Twelve minutes into the period, the Mammoth took advantage of the called-off goal and tied the game 2-2 on a goal from Jack McBain when he wacked a rebound off a Sean Durzi shot into the Predators’ net.
This goal forced overtime, where Guenther won the game for the Utah Mammoth after he won a battle for the puck in the offensive zone, took it to the net, and put a great move on Saros to close out the Mammoth’s first victory.
It was a tight checking affair with these two teams only combining for 45 shots in nearly 63 minutes. The two Central Division opponents will match up next, right before the new year, on Dec. 29.
