Mammoth vs. Flyers Preview: Logan Cooley's Hot Hand Meets a Philly Team Waiting on Konecny

Logan Cooley's week already has a highlight reel. The Pittsburgh native scored a hat trick in his hometown on Thursday, finishing it with one second left in regulation to force overtime, and Utah won it in OT. Now he gets to bring that energy across the state to a Philadelphia Flyers team that has been waiting all week to find out whether its own reinforcements are ready.

The Utah Mammoth (9-5-0) visit the Flyers (3-8-4) at 4 p.m. ET Sunday at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. It is the second stop on a six-game road trip for Utah and the first game since Wednesday for the Flyers, who had three days off after a 5-2 loss in Washington.

The Stakes: A Bounce-Back Machine vs. a Team Searching for One

Utah's 18 points rank second in the Central Division, three behind Minnesota. The Mammoth have yet to lose two straight games this season, per the club, and they are 5-3-0 on the road.

Philadelphia's 10 points leave it tied with Columbus at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division. The Flyers' season has been a mood swing in three acts: a franchise-record nine straight losses to open the year, then three straight wins over Ottawa, Colorado and Buffalo, then three straight losses to Anaheim, Columbus and Washington. They have been outscored 50-29, a minus-21 goal differential that explains a lot.

Help may be on the way, though. Travis Konecny and Owen Tippett, both on injured reserve, practiced in regular jerseys Saturday and could play Sunday, per NHL.com. "They're now day to day more than ever," coach Rick Tocchet said Friday. "It's getting close."

The Matchup: Utah's Power Play vs. Utah's Penalty Box

The Mammoth's power play was the best in the NHL at 38.1 percent entering last week, per the club, and Nick Schmaltz's five power-play goals ranked second in the league at the time. Philadelphia's penalty kill ranked 11th at 82.6 percent at that point. If Utah gets chances with the man advantage, this could get away from the Flyers in a hurry.

The catch is Utah's own discipline. The Mammoth have committed 62 penalties, 4.4 per game, a total that ranks sixth in the league, per the AP. That gives Philadelphia a path. Matvei Michkov, who scored on a third-period power play in Washington on Wednesday, has seven goals in his last 10 games, per the AP. Feed him enough power plays and the math changes.

Utah also wins a lot of draws. The Mammoth ranked fourth in faceoff win percentage entering last week, and Vincent Trocheck's 63.1 percent was third best in the league, per the club. Against a team that needs every puck it can get, starting with it matters.

Players to Watch

• Logan Cooley, Mammoth F: Utah's goals leader with seven, all of them over his last 10 games along with four assists, per the AP. He has scored six of Utah's last eight road goals, per the club. "That was one of my favorite goals I think I've scored," Cooley said Thursday of his buzzer-beater.
• Mikhail Sergachev, Mammoth D: Leads the team with 12 assists and ended Thursday's game with his third career overtime winner. Utah's defensemen have 12 goals, the most in the NHL, per the club.
• Clayton Keller, Mammoth F: The team leader in points with 16, centered by Schmaltz on NHL.com's projected top line.
• Matvei Michkov, Flyers F: Philadelphia's goals leader with nine. Trevor Zegras leads the team in assists (nine) and points (13), and the two are the Flyers' best bet to keep pace.

Team News

NHL.com reports Utah could use the same lineup from Thursday's 4-3 overtime win in Pittsburgh, with coach André Tourigny noting possible game-time decisions. John Marino (upper body) is out, and Michael Carcone and Maveric Lamoureux are on injured reserve, per ESPN. Karel Vejmelka, who carries a 3.13 goals-against average and one shutout, tops Utah's projected goalie pair, with Sebastian Cossa coming off a 31-save win Thursday.

For Philadelphia, the headline is Konecny, who has missed the last 10 games with a lower-body injury, and Tippett (upper body). Tocchet said Saturday that Tippett "looks like he's trending that way," per NHL.com. Rasmus Ristolainen and Nikita Grebenkin remain on injured reserve. NHL.com projects Dan Vladar in net, with Joseph Woll as the backup.

By the Numbers

• DraftKings lists Utah at -162 on the moneyline (Philadelphia +136) with a total of 6.5, via ESPN, as of Saturday.
• Utah is 6-4-0 in its last 10, averaging 3.4 goals and allowing 3.7; Philadelphia is 3-5-2, averaging 2.3 and allowing 3.0, per the AP.
• The Flyers are 2-3-3 at home; the Mammoth are 5-3-0 on the road.
• This is the first of two meetings; the rematch is March 13 in Utah.

Our Pick

Our pick: Mammoth 4-2. If Konecny and Tippett both return, Philadelphia is a different, deeper team than the one that lost three straight, and a rested home side against a club on a long trip is never a gimme. But Utah has the league's most dangerous power play from last week's numbers, a strong faceoff group and the hottest scorer in the building, and it has made a habit of answering every loss with a win. The Flyers' best hope is drawing enough penalties to turn this into a special-teams game.

Odds from DraftKings via ESPN as of Oct. 31. Standings, injury listings and season stats from ESPN; recent-form and penalty numbers from the AP preview via ESPN. Projected lineups and injury notes from NHL.com. Quotes from the Mammoth's official site and NHL.com.