Nhl meeting in Salt Lake City: Avalanche head to Delta Center to face Mammoth
The Colorado Avalanche begin a stretch of five games in seven days with a 7 p. m. MT matchup against the Utah Mammoth at the Delta Center, a quick nhl restart following the three-week pause for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.
Nhl: Meeting with the Mammoth
This is the fourth and final regular-season meeting between Colorado and Utah. The teams split the first three: Colorado won 2-1 in Denver on October 9th, Utah won 4-3 in overtime in Salt Lake City on October 21st, and Colorado won 1-0 at home on December 23rd. In six previous regular-season games against the Mammoth, the Avalanche have a record of 4-1-1.
Across those matchups, Nathan MacKinnon has posted six points (2g/4a) in six games against Utah. Martin Necas has three points (2g/1a) in four contests versus the Mammoth, and Cale Makar has registered three points (2g/1a) in six games against Utah.
How the teams finished their recent games
The Avalanche beat the San Jose Sharks 4-2 on Wednesday, February 4th at Ball Arena. Artturi Lehkonen opened Colorado’s scoring at 1: 05 of the second period with his 18th goal of the season in a net-front scramble, then doubled the lead at 15: 47 of the middle frame with his 19th on a right-circle one-timer set up by MacKinnon’s cross-ice feed. MacKinnon recorded the 700th and 701st assists of his career in the game. In net, Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 23 of the 25 shots he faced.
San Jose tied the game in the third period when Timothy Liljegren scored at 0: 43 on a one-timer from the top of the right circle and Philipp Kurashev scored at 3: 34 on a left-circle shot off the rush. Josh Manson gave Colorado a 3-2 lead at 12: 44 of the third with his fifth goal of the season on a one-timer from the point, and Brock Nelson sealed the 4-2 final with an empty-net goal at 18: 43, his 29th of the season.
The Mammoth defeated the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 at the Delta Center on Wednesday, February 4th. Utah jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first period when Sean Durzi scored at 0: 57 and Nick Schmaltz added a power-play tally at 8: 11. Dylan Guenther made it 3-0 at 4: 40 of the third period. Detroit cut the lead to 3-1 on a Dylan Larkin power-play goal at 15: 52, and Clayton Keller scored an empty-net goal at 17: 42 to finish the game 4-1.
Player numbers and club rankings to watch
MacKinnon leads the nhl in goals with 40, is second in points with 93, and is tied for third in assists with 53. Cale Makar is tied for fourth among NHL defensemen in points and assists and is tied for fifth among blueliners in goals. Brock Nelson is tied for 10th in the NHL in goals with 29.
Notable Mammoth leaders include Clayton Keller (54 points, 37 assists, 17 goals), Dylan Guenther (25 goals, 47 points, 22 assists) and Nick Schmaltz (23 goals, 30 assists, 53 points). Martin Necas’ 51 even-strength points this season are tied for the fifth most in the NHL. Colorado’s. 908 team save percentage on the road is tied for the second highest in the NHL, and Nelson’s 13 goals since January 1st are tied for the most in the league.
Olympic returns, a new defenseman and a trade
The NHL pause gave Avalanche players time at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. Colorado was one of three teams that sent at least eight players to the Games. Martin Necas was selected to play for Czechia. Gabe Landeskog returned to the Olympics for Sweden as team captain. Joel Kiviranta and Artturi Lehkonen played for Finland and captured bronze. Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Devon Toews played for Canada and earned silver. Brock Nelson captured gold for the United States; he is a third-generation Olympian and added a fourth Olympic gold to his family mantle alongside Bill Christian, Roger Christian (Squaw Valley, 1960) and Dave Christian (Lake Placid, 1980).
On Tuesday morning, the Avalanche traded defenseman Sam Girard and their second-round pick in 2028 to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for defenseman Brett Kulak. Kulak, 32, had been acquired from the Edmonton Oilers in the deal that sent him and goaltender Stuart Skinner to Pittsburgh. With Pittsburgh this season Kulak scored one goal and added six assists for seven points in 25 games; he had two assists in 31 games with Edmonton earlier this season. In his previous season with Edmonton he set career bests with seven goals, 18 assists and 25 points.
Coach Jared Bednar said: “You’re getting a big, solid D that can skate, and defend real well, and move the puck. He does a lot of good things, a guy that has been to back to back Stanley Cup Finals, and was an integral part of [Edmonton’s] blue line, and what they were trying to do as a team. We like the player a lot, and so, we’re excited. ” He added, “This is a big, strong guy that defends really well. He’s got a ton of experience as well. It’s just a different look for us, right? I think Kulak’s a guy, that depending on how you’re matching up in the playoffs, that he can go up and play with a guy like Cale if I want to move [Toews] against another team’s top line. […] Maybe Kulak can go up and Toews can go down and he can take care of that matchup with a guy like Manson. It gives us flexibility there that I don’t think we necessarily had with [Girard]. ” Bednar noted that Kulak, along with most of the unclear in the provided context
How to watch and what’s next
Game time is listed as 7 p. m. MT at the Delta Center. Watch and listen listings published for the matchup include: Altitude and Altitude+ with Altitude Sports Radio (950 AM) noted, and broader listings that include ALT, ALT+, KUPX-TV, +, NHL Center Ice (Outside Regional Broadcast Areas - US), SN+, and NHL Centre Ice (Canadian Broadcast Areas). Radio listen options also list Altitude Sports Radio KKSE-FM 92. 5 FM.
This Utah game is the first of the Avalanche’s back-to-back sequence; Colorado plays five games in seven days, with four of those games arranged as two back-to-back pairs. The next confirmed game on Colorado’s schedule is against the Minnesota Wild at Ball Arena on Thursday evening.
Player comment
“Just super happy to be here, be back here. [I] missed these guys. Obviously, it was nice with the national team [at The Winter] Olympics [on a] big stage. But, we [have] got some work to do here, and I’m excited. ” — unclear in the provided context
