NHL

Wild vs Mammoth Preview Oct 27

Minnesota Wild vs Utah Mammoth preview for Oct. 27: records, injuries, projected starters and the key matchup at Delta Center in Salt Lake City.

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The Minnesota Wild take their four-game winning streak into Delta Center on Tuesday, Oct. 27, when they face the Utah Mammoth at 9 p.m. ET. Minnesota enters at 8-3-2, good for 18 points and the top spot in the Central Division, while Utah sits one win behind at 8-4-0 with 16 points. The season series between the two Central Division rivals opens with this game.

Minnesota has won four straight, including a 5-1 rout of the Seattle Kraken and a 4-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Monday, the night before this matchup. Utah has been streakier, alternating wins and losses in four of its last five outings, most recently topping the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-4 in overtime on Oct. 25.

Minnesota Wild Vs Utah Mammoth Game Information

  • Date: Tuesday, Oct. 27
  • Time: 9 p.m. ET
  • Venue: Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah
  • TV/Streaming: ESPN+, MINNHL, Utah 16
  • Series: First meeting of the 2026-27 season

By The Numbers

  • Goals against average: Minnesota 2.31, Utah 3.33
  • Save percentage: Minnesota .907, Utah .864
  • Shooting percentage: Minnesota 10.1%, Utah 12.6%
  • Faceoff percentage: Minnesota 50.6%, Utah 54.1%
  • Total shots: Minnesota 407, Utah 365
  • Total goals: Minnesota 41, Utah 46
  • Power-play goals: Minnesota 11, Utah 16
  • Penalty minutes: Minnesota 110, Utah 125

Minnesota Wild Outlook

Minnesota ranks first in the Central Division at 8-3-2 and has allowed just 30 goals in 13 games, the fewest total among division teams listed in the standings. The Wild have won their last four games, a stretch that includes a 5-1 win over the Kraken and their most recent 4-2 victory over the Canucks, detailed in a recap of the Wild’s win in Vancouver.

Kirill Kaprizov leads the team with 13 goals and 21 points, while Quinn Hughes paces the club with 13 assists. Jesper Wallstedt is projected to start in goal with Filip Gustavsson still on injured reserve recovering from hip surgery, with a return date listed as Nov. 19. Forwards Marcus Foligno and Nick Foligno remain on injured reserve with lower-body and upper-body injuries, respectively, both carrying an Oct. 29 return date, and defenseman Brock Faber is out after skull surgery with a projected return of Nov. 3.

Minnesota’s .907 team save percentage is the better of the two sides in this matchup, a number that lines up with the Wild allowing an average of 2.31 goals against so far this season.

Utah Mammoth Outlook

Utah sits at 8-4-0 and ranks second in the Central Division, one win behind Minnesota but two points back in the standings. The Mammoth have scored 46 goals this season, five more than Minnesota, and carry the better shooting percentage at 12.6% compared to the Wild’s 10.1%.

Clayton Keller leads Utah with 15 points on 11 assists, while Nick Schmaltz tops the team with seven goals. Karel Vejmelka is projected to start in net. Utah’s defense has been thinner than Minnesota’s of late, with the Mammoth allowing 40 goals against an average of 3.33 per game. Defenseman John Marino is out with an upper-body injury and a projected Nov. 1 return, left wing Michael Carcone is on injured reserve with an upper-body injury carrying the same return date, and defenseman Maveric Lamoureux remains on injured reserve with a shoulder injury and a listed return of Feb. 12, 2027.

Key Matchup

The clearest contrast sits between the two blue lines and the goaltenders behind them. Minnesota has allowed 282 shots against and posted a .907 save percentage, while Utah has given up 282 shots against as well but converted that into a far worse .864 mark, a gap that helps explain Utah’s 3.33 goals-against average against Minnesota’s 2.31. With Marino and Carcone both out for Utah, the Mammoth will lean on a shorthanded defensive group against a Minnesota forward corps averaging 407 shots on the season, the highest total of the two teams.

Utah’s power play has converted 16 goals compared to Minnesota’s 11, so how the Wild’s penalty-killers handle that unit, without Marcus Foligno and Nick Foligno in the lineup, could factor into how cleanly Minnesota controls five-on-five play.

What To Watch

Minnesota’s four-game win streak has pushed it to the top of the Central Division standings, ahead of Dallas (7-3-1, 15 points) and Colorado (6-1-5, 13 points). A Wild win would keep Minnesota unbeaten in its last five games and extend its division lead over Utah. For the Mammoth, a win would pull them even with Minnesota on wins at 8-4-0 and keep pace in a Central race that has eight teams separated by 12 points in the standings. Both goaltenders, Wallstedt for Minnesota and Vejmelka for Utah, are projected starters subject to confirmation closer to puck drop.

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