TEAM COMPARISONS
The gauntlet begins for the Canadiens: 16 games in 28 days before Christmas. It’s a brutal stretch of hockey, but there are no built-in excuses. After landing in Utah on Monday evening, the Habs have had a bit of time to adjust to Salt Lake City’s altitude as they gear up for three games in four nights on this road trip.
They head into it feeling a lot better about themselves, too. Montreal snapped out of an ugly November slide with a 5–2 win over Toronto on Saturday, a result that Martin St-Louis’ group badly needed. The Habs are 5-2-2 on the road this season and will try to start this trip strong — and complete a season sweep of the Mammoth.
Utah’s path has looked a lot like Montreal’s: a fast start followed by a rough patch. The Mammoth are 4-5-3 in November and have struggled to generate offense, averaging just 2.58 goals over their last 12 games. Their power play has gone ice-cold at 3.7%, the lowest in the League since November 1. But they’ve compensated with an elite penalty kill — the best in the NHL this month at 96.6% — and they’ve been tough to beat at home with a 7-2-1 record at the Delta Center.
SEASON SERIES
Nov. 8 vs. UTA: 6-2 MTL
Nov. 26 @ UTA:
PLAYERS TO WATCH FOR
Mike Matheson is back to looking like the 2024-25 version of himself. The defenseman is tracking toward a 54-point season, leads the Canadiens with a plus-12 rating, and has piled up five points in his last three outings — including back-to-back multi-point performances. Matheson has posted three points in two career matchups against Utah.
On the other side, Logan Cooley is coming off a record-setting night. Yes, two of them were empty-netters, but his four-goal performance against Vegas on Monday set a new franchise mark. The 21-year-old now leads the Mammoth with 13 goals, passing Nick Schmaltz in the process. Cooley has three points in five career games versus Montreal.
BY THE NUMBERS: HABS-MAMMOTH
Here’s how the Canadiens and Mammoth match up by the numbers:
