Utah Mammoth Beat New York Islanders 7-2

Utah came into this game with one of the best young scorers in hockey, Dylan Guenther. He played well in this game. Utah even got their best goaltender for this game in Karel Vejmelka. He has 14 of the 16 wins Utah has this season. Utah is a dangerous team.

However, this was a game the Islanders needed to win. They face a challenging January and need to gain as many points as they can now. Do you think the January schedule is challenging for the Islanders?

Utah Beats the Islanders Scoring Summary

Utah came into the game on a two-game losing streak. They lost 4-3 to the Nashville Predators on Monday. They fell 4-3 to the Nashville Predators their last time out on Monday. The Islanders are coming off a 3-2 shootout victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. The Islanders have won three of their last four games. Here is a scoring summary from this game.

In the first period, no goals were scored, though the Islanders had the balance of the play. They had 10 shots to five for Utah. Including the first 10 shots of the day.

In the second period, Dylan Guenther scored for Utah. That goal gave them a 1-0 lead. That goal happened only 36 seconds into the second period. That was Guenther’s 18th goal of the season. Then, Cal Ritchie scored for the Islanders. The game was tied 1-1. Then, Guenther scored again, giving the Mammoth a 2-1 lead. Then, Nick Schmaltz scored for Utah. That gave them a 3-1 lead. As well as the Islanders played in the first period, the second period was a different story.

In the third period, Mikhail Sergachev scored for Utah, giving them a 4-1 lead. Then, Clayton Keller scored for Utah, giving them a 5-1 lead. Matthew Schaefer scored his 10th goal of the season for the Islanders. It was 5-2. Guenther then completed the hat trick for the Mammoth; they led 6-2. Schmaltz then scored for them, and it was 7-2. That is how the game ended.

News and Notes

• The Islanders are starved for goals as they have scored 2 or fewer in regulation in 9 consecutive games.
• Ilya Sorokin is getting closer, but David Rittich started his sixth consecutive game. Rittich has a .945 save percentage in the five games Sorokin has missed due to his nagging injury. Overall, Rittich is 10-4-2 with a .918 save percentage and 2.27 goals against average
• Rittich made his fifth straight start on Tuesday. He is 9-4-2 this season, along with a 2.30 goals against average, a .919 save percentage, and two shutouts. There is no update on Sorokin, who is on injured reserve and has missed four games with a nagging injury.
• Vejmelka was activated off injured reserve before the game and started for Utah. He has 14 of their 16 wins.
• Today’s game marked the exact halfway point of the season. With a win, the Islanders would have 50 points.
• In a scheduling quirk, Utah has played only one game, the loss to the Predators, since Christmas.
• This is the second of two games between the Islanders and Utah this season, so they will not play again this season. New York took the first game 3-2 in overtime at the Delta Center on November 14, 2025. Schaefer scored his first-career OT winner in the victory.
• This was the first game of 2026 for the Islanders.

Horvat Is An Olympian, Schafer Is An Alternate

Bo Horvat was named to Team Canada for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games Milano Cortina on Wednesday afternoon. Horvat will play in the Olympic Winter Games for the first time in his career, as the National Hockey League has not sent players to the Olympic Winter Games since Sochi 2014. Hovat said of the honor, “Pride and joy and just kind of honestly disbelief, too, at some points, it still hasn’t really sunk in yet, so I’m just so honored and privileged to be able to be in this situation.”

Schaefer was named an alternate for the team. That is an honor in itself for the 18-year-old. As an alternate, he could very well find himself on Team Canada. If not, he has plenty of future opportunities and is scheduled for two weeks of much-needed rest. Schaefer did make history in the win against Chicago. He got an assist and became the youngest player in history to reach 25 points.

Parting Thoughts

Things are about to get interesting for the Islanders. They have another seven-game road trip upcoming. These games are somewhat less challenging than the last seven-game road trip, though these games do include a Western Conference swing. That will be challenging. It will also be cold, as the Islanders travel to Winnipeg, Edmonton, and Calgary. Being that the standings are so packed, this road trip is critical.