Early look The full preview opens on Friday 11 December, three days before puck drop, with the expected goalies, the latest team news and game-day prices. Until then this page shows the matchup as it stands.
Early look · NHL 2026-27

Utah Mammoth at Colorado Avalanche: game preview

Puck drop14 Dec · 9:00 PM ET
VenueBall Arena
All-time meetings7 completed
BasisLast 5 meetings + 2025-26
The thesis

Twenty-nine points apart last season

Utah finished last season 15th in the league on 92 points. Colorado finished 1st on 121, and the 2025-26 season series went COL 3-0-1.

Game-day prices arrive with the afternoon snapshot, about 4:30 PM ET on the day of the game.

Head-to-head

Meeting number 8

Across 7 completed games, Colorado lead the head-to-head 5-1-1.

All-time record5-1-1Colorado's record in the series
Meetings played7This is number 8
2025-26 seriesCOL 3-0-1
Last 54-1Colorado
DateResultShotsPower playWinner
25 Feb 2026COL 4 – UTA 2——COL
23 Dec 2025UTA 0 – COL 1——COL
21 Oct 2025COL 3 – UTA 4 OT——UTA
9 Oct 2025UTA 1 – COL 2——COL
27 Dec 2024COL 4 – UTA 1——COL
Head-to-head finder

The table on each 2025-26 meeting night

DateUtahColorado
9 Oct 20250-1-0 · 0 pts26th2-0-0 · 4 pts2nd
21 Oct 20255-2-0 · 10 pts10th5-0-2 · 12 pts1st
23 Dec 202518-18-3 · 39 pts22nd27-2-7 · 61 pts1st
25 Feb 202627-21-4 · 58 pts16th35-6-9 · 79 pts1st

League rank after that night's games; a longer bar is a higher place. On 9 Oct 2025, Utah were 26th in the league and Colorado 2nd. By 25 Feb 2026 it was 16th and 1st.


Where the shots come from · last 5 meetings

Colorado out-attempted Utah 243 to 241

Every attempt from the last meetings, both teams shooting right.

Utah Mammoth

241 att · 128 on goal · 7 G · 5.5%
Crease18 att · 0 G
Slot75 att · 4 G
Wing97 att · 2 G
Point40 att · 1 G
Neutral zone11 att · 0 G

Colorado Avalanche

243 att · 112 on goal · 10 G · 8.9%
Crease20 att · 0 G
Slot94 att · 5 G
Wing74 att · 4 G
Point48 att · 1 G
Neutral zone7 att · 0 G
GoalOn goalMissedBlocked

Expected goals

Colorado have created the better chances, last 10 games

Shot quality both ways: expected goals weigh every unblocked attempt by its chance of scoring. Finishing above zero means more goals than the chances.

UtahColorado
3.62xG for per game3.16
2.71xG against per game2.55
57.2%xG share55.4%
+2.5FinishingGoals minus expected goals+7.7
+2.8GoaltendingExpected goals against minus goals allowed+0.1

This season: 4 games for Utah, 2 for Colorado. Small sample: early-season xG moves a lot from night to night.

Every team’s xG →


Special teams

Power play and penalty kill, season and series

This season's rates first, then 2025-26 and the last meetings between the two. Power-play chances are counted from the penalty log with coincidental minors cancelled; faceoffs are each club's wins over draws taken.

All bars share one scale · 0–100%SeasonLast meetings

Utah

Small sample
Power play · 2026-2761.5%
Power play · 2025-2620.0% · 18th
Power play · last 5 meetings—
Penalty kill · 2026-2792.9%
Penalty kill · 2025-2678.1% · 19th
Faceoffs · 2026-2753.0% · 124/234
Drawn · 2026-2713 (3.25/gm)
Drawn · last meetings0 (0.00/gm)
Shorthanded · 2026-2714 (3.50/gm)
PP goals · last meetings0

Colorado

Small sample
Power play · 2026-2744.4%
Power play · 2025-2617.1% · 27th
Power play · last 5 meetings—
Penalty kill · 2026-27100.0%
Penalty kill · 2025-2684.6% · 1st
Faceoffs · 2026-2746.8% · 58/124
Drawn · 2026-279 (4.50/gm)
Drawn · last meetings0 (0.00/gm)
Shorthanded · 2026-276 (3.00/gm)
PP goals · last meetings0

Skaters

Skaters to watch

Each club's top three forwards and defencemen by points this season, with 2025-26 one tap away.

PlayerGPGAPP/GP
8Nick Schmaltz45271.75
11Dylan Guenther43361.50
88Martin Necas22242.00
Points leaders
PlayerGPGAPP/GP
20Andrew Peeke41120.50
42Josh Manson21231.50
8Cale Makar21231.50
7Devon Toews20221.00
Defencemen stats

Goaltending

Who has stopped this matchup

Save percentage in the last meetings by goalie. Starters are confirmed on game day.

Expected startersAn estimate until the teams confirmEvery game tonight →

Expected starter after their game on 12 Dec: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.

Expected starter after their game on 12 Dec: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.

Utah crease

UTA · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 11 Dec

Karel Vejmelka.9133 GP · 2-1-0 · GSAx +1.7
Sebastian Cossa.9471 GP · 1-0-0 · GSAx +1.4

No appearances against Colorado in the last meetings.

Colorado crease

COL · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 11 Dec

Mackenzie Blackwood.9122 GP · 2-0-0 · GSAx +0.1

No appearances against Utah in the last meetings.


Totals

Scoring rates point to about 6.3 goals

No total is posted yet: it arrives with the game-day prices. Until then, the scoring rates and the recent meetings set the range.

Goals in the last 5 meetings

25 Feb 20266 · COL 4–2 UTA
23 Dec 20251 · UTA 0–1 COL
21 Oct 20257 · COL 3–4 UTA
9 Oct 20253 · UTA 1–2 COL
27 Dec 20245 · COL 4–1 UTA

Bar length is total goals, coloured by the winner.

Scoring rates

Team26-27 GF26-27 GA25-26 GF25-26 GA
Utah4.252.003.272.93
Colorado7.002.503.682.48

Goals for and against per game. The estimate averages each team’s scoring with the other’s goals allowed, and leans on 2025-26 until a team has played 20 games.

Scoring rates suggest6.3Goals in this game
Last 5 meetings4.4Goals per game
Line—No total posted yet
Books at the line—With the game-day prices

Team news

6 on the injury lists

Utah · injuries

Maveric LamoureuxShoulderIRReturn12 Feb
Mikhail SergachevUpper BodyDay-to-dayReturn8 Oct

Colorado · injuries

Georgii MerkulovUndisclosedIRReturn16 Oct
Logan O'ConnorLower BodyIRReturn7 Oct
Trent MinerUndisclosedIRReturn10 Oct
Zachary L'HeureuxLower BodyIRReturn7 Oct
27 Sep · UTA

Placed LW Ben McCartney on waivers.

25 Sep · UTA

Assigned Fs Yegor Borikov, Caleb Desnoyers, Tij Iginla, Gabe Smith and G Michael Hrabal to Tucson (AHL). Waived for the purpose of assignment to Fs Brandon Tanev and Joshua Roy and D Zac Jones.

23 Jul 2026 · UTA

Signed D Max Psenicka to a three-year contract.

27 Sep · COL

Placed LD Keaton Middleton, LD Wyatt Aamodt, RW/LW Fabian Lysell, C Vinnie Hinostroza, LW Adam Beckman and LW Tristen Nielsen on waivers.

27 Sep · COL

Placed D Keaton Middleton, D Wyatt Aamodt, LW Fabian Lysell, C Vinnie Hinostroza, LW Adam Beckman and G Mads Sogaard Nielsen on waivers.

25 Sep · COL

Reassigned Ds Domenick Fensore, Saige Weinstein and Christian Wolanin to Colorado (AHL).

Injury report
#17Ethan BelchetzRound 1 · WindsorLW
#96Adam ValentiniRound 3 · MichiganC
#115Carl AxelssonRound 4 · MuskegonG
#130Theodor KnightsRound 5 · Modo Jr.D
Full draft
#43Egor ShilovRound 2 · VictoriavilleC
#74Beckett HamiltonRound 3 · Red DeerC
#126Tobias TvrznikRound 4 · WenatcheeG
#128Axel ElofssonRound 4 · Orebro Jr.D
Full draft

Updated after every final