SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Dylan Guenther scored his 39th goal of the season, Clayton Keller had three assists to reach 56 and the Utah Mammoth beat the Nashville Predators 4-1 on Thursday night for their fifth straight victory.
Less than an hour after the game, Utah (42-30-6) clinched a playoff berth in its second season when the Anaheim Ducks beat the San Jose Sharks 6-1. The Mammoth sit in the first Western Conference wild card spot with 90 points and have a six-point lead over Nashville.
Kailer Yamamoto, Nick Schmaltz and captain Lawson Crouse also scored for Utah, and Karel Vejmelka stopped 29 shots.
Erik Haula had Nashville's goal and Juuse Saros made 23 saves.
Yamamoto, who only played 12 NHL games last season, scored his 12th goal to open the scoring with 5:33 to go in the first period. He deflected in a puck off a cross-crease pass from Guenther for his second goal in the last three games.
Schmaltz scored his 31st goal — and fifth in his last five games — on a power play 5:35 into the second for a 2-0 lead. Keller slid the puck across the crease to Schmaltz at the back door.
Crouse, who had 20 points all of last season, scored his 22nd goal early in the third for a 3-0 lead.
Guenther's goal made it six straight games Utah has scored at least four times.
Haula scored on the power play for Nashville midway through the third after Vejmelka stopped the first 22 shots he faced.
Nashville defenseman Roman Josi was a late scratch after participating in warmups with an upper-body injury.
Nashville, which wrapped up its final trip of the regular season, returns home for three more games and will host the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.
Utah wraps a three-game homestand on Saturday against the Carolina Hurricanes.
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Utah Mammoth center Clayton Keller (9) shoots the puck to win the game against the Edmonton Oilers during overtime of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Melissa Majchrzak)
CHICAGO (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes rested several key players Thursday night — and still cruised to an important win.
Defenseman Jalen Chatfield was scratched for Carolina's 7-2 victory at Chicago because of an unspecified injury. Defenseman Jaccob Slavin and forwards Jordan Staal, Jordan Martinook, Seth Jarvis, Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov also got the night off.
“It speaks to our depth, the style that we play,” said Mark Jankowski, who had two goals in the win. “I think, just the way that we play, we can play with anyone no matter who's in and out of the lineup. Everyone stepped up and did a great job.”
Chatfield took just two shifts in the third period of Tuesday night's 6-5 overtime victory over Boston. He has two goals and a career-high 15 assists in 71 games this season.
“You're always concerned when guys are missing,” coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “I hope it's not anything that's going to drag on.”
The Hurricanes (51-22-6) clinched the Metropolitan Division title with their win against the Bruins. They also lead the Eastern Conference by two points over Buffalo, which posted a 5-0 victory over Columbus on Thursday night.
Jarvis tops Carolina with 32 goals, and Aho has a team-high 53 assists and 79 points. Svechnikov has 30 goals and 39 assists.
“Everyone's dealing with something, unfortunately,” Brind’Amour said. “I mean they could have played, I think, but we're at a point where (a) guy's not close to 100 (percent), there's really no reason to throw him in.”
Defenseman Charles Alexis Legault and forwards Skyler Brind’Amour, Bradly Nadeau and Josiah Slavin skated in the win one day after they were recalled from Carolina's American Hockey League affiliate.
Skyler Brind’Amour is the coach's son, and Slavin is the younger brother of Jaccob Slavin. Skyler Brind’Amour scored a goal in two games with the Hurricanes last April, and Josiah Slavin had an assist in 15 games with the Blackhawks during the 2021-22 season in his only previous NHL action.
“The system's pretty straight up, right? So anyone can squeeze right in,” said William Carrier, who had three assists in the victory. “And they play the same way down there, so they fit right in. It's like they played all season with us.”
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Carolina Hurricanes goalie Frederik Anderson (31) celebrates with teammate Sean Walker (26) after defeating the Chicago Blackhawks in an NHL hockey game in Chicago, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
Carolina Hurricanes' Rod Brind'Amour, right, uses a coaches challenge for goalie interference with referee Frederick L'ecuyer (17) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)
