Through a combined 21 games played, the Tampa Bay Lightning and Utah Mammoth are trending in the right direction: upward in their respective divisions.
The two clubs will meet Saturday night in Salt Lake City in the first of two games against each other this season.
Entering the Saturday clash, the Mammoth are atop the Central Division, tied with Minnesota with 14 points through 11 games apiece. After Saturday, the Wild will be the next opponent for the Mammoth — Tuesday in Salt Lake City.
Utah is coming off of a 5-3 setback on Thursday against the Kraken in Seattle. The Mammoth got two goals from Logan Cooley and one tally from Vincent Trocheck, as each forward netted on the power play.
The Mammoth went 2-for-3 on the man advantage and outshot the Kraken 36-23.
Skating with the Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers for 13 seasons, the 33-year-old Trocheck was acquired from the Rangers over the summer for Sean Durzi, Cole Beaudoin and a 2027 third-round draft pick.
“I think the comfortability with each other and getting back into the rhythm of playing the right way has gotten better each game,” said the Pittsburgh native, who has three goals, two assists and is 61.4% on faceoffs. “I think how fast we are and how fast we play is tough to play against, especially when teams aren’t able to change (lines).”
Stopping pucks has been an issue for Utah goaltenders Karel Vejmelka and Sebastian Cossa.
Vejmelka is the team’s No. 1 goalie with a 5-3-0 mark and a 3.04 goals-against average and an .874 save percentage. The 6-foot-6 Cossa is 2-1-0 with a 3.33 GAA and an .820 save rate.
Tampa Bay, which is tied for second place in the Atlantic Division, will conclude a three-game road trip on Saturday after a win against the Vegas Golden Knights and a loss to the Colorado Avalanche. A perennial powerhouse, Colorado entered the game three points behind the Mammoth in the Central.
However, the Avalanche crafted an early 3-0 lead, received a four-point night from Nathan MacKinnon, and won 6-3 despite Jake Guentzel scoring twice for the Lightning as their three-game winning streak ended.
Nikita Kucherov had a three-point showing in a 6-2 win over the Golden Knights to start the trip. He was held off the scoresheet in Denver and ended the night with 1,137 points, tied with former captain Steven Stamkos for tops in Lightning history.
Coach Jon Cooper had one word to describe how he understands his complex playmaker.
“Experience. Because I’ve got to experience Kuch,” Cooper said. “You treat everyone fairly, don’t treat everyone equally. Kuch is somebody that has garnered, you know, you have to let Kuch breathe out there.
“Sometimes, people look and think, ‘Is he frustrating?’ No, you let Kuch be Kuch.”
After facing Utah on Saturday night, the Lightning will not play again until a home game Thursday against the Winnipeg Jets, who dealt disgruntled goalie Connor Hellebuyck to the New Jersey Devils on Friday.