Utah Mammoth clinch first Western Conference wild-card seed

The Utah Mammoth defeated the Winnipeg Jets 5-3 on Tuesday, locking them into the No. 1 Wildcard spot in the Western Conference.

They will play the winner of the Pacific Division, which could be either the Vegas Golden Knights or the Edmonton Oilers. Vegas can clinch the division if they earn a point Wednesday against the Seattle Kraken in their final game of the regular season. However, if the Golden Knights lose in regulation and the Oilers defeat the Vancouver Canucks Thursday, Edmonton will win the division as they hold the tiebreaker with Vegas.

The Mammoth won over their division rival in the Jets after Nick Schmaltz scored twice while Logan Cooley and J.J. Peterka each had a goal. They are now 43-32-6 with 92 points, fourth in the Central Division.

Utah has one game left as they host the St. Louis Blues Thursday.

In an episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE that aired last week, Tyler Yaremchuk and former NHL goaltender discussed the Mammoth’s success in 2025-26 and if they’re built to be a Western Conference contender for the foreseeable future.

Tyler Yaremchuk: I think this year, whether the season ends in the second round or the third round or with a first-round exit … it’s been a Utah organization that feel very good about where they’re going. This is a great step forward and this is an organization that I think next season is going to be a team that we look at and go: “Alright, now they’re ready to go on a bit of a run.”

Carter Hutton: I think for me, this is an organization that has a big sigh of relief in making the playoffs. This is them trying to build a culture and community and make Utah hockey a staple there, and I think that’s great as ownership is on board.

With Dylan Guenther and Logan Cooley and the future of this team, I do think there’s a ton of potential.