Utah Mammoth at Blackhawks as both seek early-season momentum

The Utah Mammoth visit the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center on Monday night at 8:30 p.m. ET, with Utah seeking to build on a 3-2 overtime win in Nashville on Saturday and Chicago aiming to halt a two-game skid to start the season. Utah enters the matchup 1-0-0, while Chicago is 0-2-1 through its opening games.

Dylan Guenther scored 2:56 into overtime against the Predators, five-hole on goaltender Juuse Saros, to lift the Mammoth. Logan Cooley and Jack McBain also scored for Utah, and Karel Vejmelka made 20 saves. "When the game's on the line, every shift matters and that's when we want to be at our best," Guenther said after the win. Moments before the game-winning goal, defenseman Sean Durzi absorbed a heavy hit and left for the bench holding his shoulder; coach Andre Tourigny said after the game he did not have an update.

The matchup highlights contrasting early-season narratives. Utah is the NHL's newest franchise after acquiring the personnel and assets of the Arizona Coyotes following the 2023-24 season and playing last year as the Utah Hockey Club. The team finished 38-31-13 and sixth in the Central Division before adopting the Mammoth name in the offseason....