The Vegas Golden Knights enter the 2026 playoffs riding a 7-0-1 surge under new coach John Tortorella, but their first-round opponent, the Utah Mammoth, is no ordinary eighth seed. Game 1 is Sunday at T-Mobile Arena.
Utah, relocated from Arizona in 2024, has built through the draft and key trades. Captain Clayton Keller notched his third 80-point season in four years, while 23-year-old Dylan Guenther scored 40 goals. The Mammoth added championship pedigree with defensemen Nate Schmidt and Ian Cole, plus a deadline deal for MacKenzie Weegar.
Season series
Utah won two of three meetings. After a 4-1 Knights win on Nov. 20, the Mammoth responded with a 5-1 victory four days later behind Logan Cooley’s four goals. In the final matchup March 20, Utah cruised 4-0 as Adin Hill allowed three goals on three shots.
X-factors
Mammoth: Nick Schmaltz, who led the team with 11 power-play goals and scored 33 total.
Golden Knights: Pavel Dorofeyev, Vegas’s leading goal scorer, who must provide consistent postseason production after fading last year.
Goaltending battle
Carter Hart is expected to start for Vegas, having won all six starts since returning from injury with a .930 save percentage and 1.66 GAA. Utah counters with Karel Vejmelka, the NHL leader in starts (62) and second in wins (38), though his .897 save percentage and recent struggles (3.09 GAA since Olympic break) raise questions.
Prediction
Experience favors the Knights, whose core has won a title. Utah’s youth and inexperience will be tested. Knights in 6.
