Devils, Mammoth look to build off wins for early 2026 momentum

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The Utah Mammoth look to start 2026 with two straight wins as they visit the New Jersey Devils for a Saturday matinee in Newark, N.J.

Dylan Guenther tallied four points and his first NHL hat trick as the Mammoth, who ended 2025 with two straight losses, cruised to a 7-2 victory against the host New York Islanders on Thursday.

It was a long-awaited moment that had tantalized Guenther throughout his four-year career. He had eight two-goal games over his first 188 appearances.

"It's cool," Guenther said of the hat trick. "I mean, I probably had a lot of two-goalers, actually, so it's nice to get another one. But I mean, (Lawson) Crouse and (Barrett) Hayton made really nice plays on all of my goals. I wouldn't have scored without them."

Crouse and Hayton each assisted two of Guenther's three tallies. Nick Schmaltz scored twice and Clayton Keller and Mikhail Sergachev added a goal and two helpers apiece for the Mammoth.

Karel Vejmelka made 20 saves in his return from a two-game absence due to an upper-body injury.

It was Utah's third seven-goal outing of the season, but coach Andre Tourigny admitted the score was not a perfect reflection of how the game played out.

The game was tied 1-1 through 30 minutes before the Mammoth added two more goals in the second period and two to begin the third to open a 5-1 lead.

"We didn't have a great start. Our goalie stepped up. We held on to not give up any goals. Then our power play came up big to give us the momentum," Tourigny said.

The Devils are also coming off a victory, scoring three unanswered third-period goals in a span of less than two minutes to rally past the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 on Wednesday.

Luke Hughes tallied a goal and an assist, Nico Hischier and Arseny Gritsyuk added goals and Jake Allen made 33 saves for New Jersey, which had lost its last four games (0-3-1).

"Things have not been going well and have not been going our way," Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe said. "The guys could go out and just kind of get through the third period rather than trying to make a statement. We had talked and felt strongly that if we got one, we were going to get two."

New Jersey has largely alternated between Allen and Jacob Markstrom in net, meaning it could be Markstrom's turn to face the Mammoth. Markstrom lost three of his last four starts but could get a boost from being named to Sweden's 2026 Olympic squad Friday along with Devils forward Jesper Bratt.

Devils star Jack Hughes will represent the United States in the Olympics in February.

The Devils have won three straight games against the Mammoth, including a 2-1 victory in Salt Lake City on Dec. 19.

--Field Level Media