The Utah Mammoth secured their fifth consecutive victory by defeating the Nashville Predators 5-2 at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday. Kailer Yamamoto and Barrett Hayton each recorded a goal and an assist, while Mikhail Sergachev contributed three assists in the win.
The Utah Mammoth extended their point streak to nine games (8-0-1) with a 5-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on January 24, 2026, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. This marked Utah's longest point streak in franchise history and came during a stretch where the team has focused on simplifying their approach amid a crucial part of the season. Mammoth coach Andre Tourigny emphasized the importance of maintaining structure, saying, 'What's important is you don't focus on distractions. … We have a structure. We have a system. We have a prep. We have a way we want to do things. We want to have an identity. … We're in the stretch where we know what we have to do. We try to not complicate everything. We try to simplify and simplify and simplify, and I think we need to keep going that way.' Karel Vejmelka made 27 saves in net for Utah, who improved to 27-20-4. The game started with Nashville taking a 1-0 lead at 3:43 of the first period on a power-play goal by Steven Stamkos, his 17th in the past 22 games and 236th career power-play goal, tying Mario Lemieux for eighth in NHL history. A one-timer from the left circle off a pass from Roman Josi, it highlighted Nashville's strong start, though coach Andrew Brunette noted, 'I thought we had some really good looks to make it 2-or-3 to nothing in the first. We didn't capitalize on them.' Utah responded in the second period, tying the score at 3:00 when Clayton Keller wristed a rebound past Juuse Saros. Michael Carcone added to the lead at 5:13 with a wrist shot on the rush, followed by Yamamoto's redirection of a Sergachev shot at 8:10 for a 3-1 advantage. Yamamoto, returning after four healthy scratches, said, 'Legs were a little tight at the beginning, but I actually felt really good. Obviously playing with [Keller and Nick Schmaltz], two unbelievable players. Very easy to play with and to read off of and stuff like that. I felt good and a huge team win.' Jonathan Marchessault pulled Nashville within one at 16:39, but Hayton's power-play rebound goal at 11:02 of the third made it 4-2. JJ Peterka sealed the win with an empty-net goal at 18:28 after being taken down by Michael Bunting. The Predators, now 24-23-4 after losing three of their last four, struggled with consistency, as Brunette lamented, 'Too many passengers in a big game, which is a little bit disappointing.' Forward Ryan O'Reilly added, 'Myself, my line, we can't feed their top players and that's what we did. It caught up to us.' The game was moved up two hours due to expected inclement weather. Utah forward Lawson Crouse missed the game due to illness, while Nashville defenseman Nicolas Hague is week to week with a lower-body injury.
