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.
Utah (42-30-6), which has won seven of 10, can clinch the franchise’s first playoff berth in its second season if the Anaheim Ducks beat the San Jose Sharks later Thursday. 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 Carolina’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.
Up next
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.
