Mammoth eying continued Kailer Yamamoto surge vs. Canucks
Kailer Yamamoto aims to continue his offensive fireworks when the Utah Mammoth host the last-place Vancouver Canucks on Monday night.
Since his return to the Mammoth lineup following a four-game absence as a healthy scratch, Yamamoto has been playing some of his best hockey of the season.
The 27-year-old forward tallied his second consecutive two-goal game in a 3-2 home loss to the Dallas Stars on Saturday.
"Just getting back into the lineup, obviously, is a huge confidence boost," said Yamamoto, who has now played in the Mammoth's past five games since coming out of the press box.
His second goal against the Stars brought Utah to within one in the first seven minutes of the final period. Before that, he scored at 10:23 of the first period to get Utah on the board.
Yamamoto was able to find instant chemistry with new linemates JJ Peterka and Barrett Hayton.
"Playing with JJ and ‘Hayts' (Hayton), they're amazing players, too," Yamamoto said. "They make plays with the best of them. They are very easy to read off. They were both fine to me."
Yamamoto, who was born in Spokane, Wash., before elevating his game in Southern California with the Junior Kings program, has four goals and one assist in his last two games. The Mammoth are considered one of the fastest skating teams in the league and the speedy Yamamoto is evidence of that.
"He's getting open a lot," Peterka said of Yamamoto. "Just popping in the slot, finding a soft spot, making it easy for me and (Hayton) to find him."
The Mammoth hope to clinch the season series on Monday when they clash with the Canucks, who are still searching for their first road win of 2026.
This is the second of three games between the Mammoth and Canucks this season. The teams meet for the final time on April 4 in Vancouver. The Mammoth won the first meeting 4-1 on Dec. 5 in Vancouver.
Canucks are looking to snap a six-game winless streak on the road. The last time they won a road game was Dec. 29, a 3-2 shootout victory in Seattle.
The Canucks have now lost 15 of their last 17 and are coming off a 3-2 shootout loss at home to Toronto on Saturday.
Head coach Adam Foote told reporters prior to Saturday's game that the Canucks' season really started going sideways after a heartbreaking 5-0 loss to the same Leafs on Jan. 10.
"It was the last Toronto game where it kind of shifted on us where we didn't respond as well as we did all year. All year we were in games, controlling games whether we had one or two against us. We were relentless," Foote said.
"We want to get back to that mentality. If we get scored on, we are not going to tilt, especially emotionally."
The Canucks' biggest problem all year has been a lack of scoring. Vancouver is headed for a second-straight season without a 30-goal scorer. Jake DeBrusk, who led the team with 28 goals last year, has just 13 and is on pace for a paltry 20 goals overall.
The upcoming Olympic break might be a good thing for Vancouver, who are last in the league with 42 points. The Canucks head into the Olympic break, which begins Friday, off this two-game road trip that also takes them to Vegas on Wednesday.