The long-awaited first career goal of JJ Peterka in Utah Mammoth colors came against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Unfortunately, Peterka would be the only Mammoth to score in a 3-1 loss on the road in Chicago.

In a game where Utah couldn’t generate enough offense, Peterka had one of the few shining moments for the Mammoth in the beginning of the third period.

Facing a double team on the boards, Peterka successfully delivered a pass to Guenther behind the net. With the sudden lane opening for Guenther and no Chicago player in the immediate vicinity, the Blackhawks collapsed to the middle of the ice to try to stop Guenther’s attempt.

While there were plenty of Blackhawks in the area and very little space to work with in the middle, it proved to be a critical mistake after a Guenther pass leaked out to a wide-open Peterka.

JJ's first goal with the Mammoth couldn't have come at a better time! pic.twitter.com/Amg2hBm8Xg

— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) October 14, 2025

"Just pressure, I think that was the key [to that goal]," said Peterka. "To get chances of the forecheck and kind of sit on them and that's also how the goal went in. Just forechecking and getting bodies to the net."

Guenther’s pass may have been intended for Logan Cooley originally, who was cutting right in front of Chicago goalie Spencer Knight, but it was still encouraging to see Peterka’s fit and chemistry with his teammates improve on the play.

But still, Utah has to generate more offense. One goal will hardly get you wins in this league.

Utah's Power Play Needs Work

Of course, allowing Andre Burakovsky to take wide-open, close-range shots on a Chicago power play is less than ideal, especially since it came from such a simple mistake of Guenther being too aggressive in his tracking of the puck.

score a goal in your 700th NHL game✅ pic.twitter.com/Jdg2JKLUUr

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 14, 2025

But still, there were some growing pains to be expected now that Guenther is regularly playing on penalty kills. Any miscommunication happening now should improve. Plus, Utah has played well, having killed 10 of 12 power plays it’s faced this season.

However, Utah’s own power-play unit converting on only 1 of 10 opportunities is an even bigger problem.

Simply put, when the Mammoth’s penalty kill made a mistake in its game against the Blackhawks, it was amplified due to a lack of success from its own power play.

Utah was getting plenty of shots across its three power plays in the game, and Chicago certainly deserves credit for its own penalty kill, but Utah didn’t force Chicago to move out of position nearly enough.

“In the NHL, you need to score greasy goals,” André Tourigny said. “It’s not just a goal when you have time and space ... We need to score those greasy goals if we want to have a chance to separate ourselves.”

The shots may have been there, but Chicago was fully ready for the ways Utah attacked. So if Utah can’t find ways to create more space on the power play or can’t will its way to more “greasy goals,” it won’t matter how many shots the Mammoth can get.

Simashev's Rookie Season is Starting Off Great

Peterka wasn’t the only newcomer making plays for Utah in this game. As a matter of fact, Simashev was one of the best players the Mammoth had.

With an elevated role due to Sean Durzi’s recent upper-body injury in Utah’s 3-2 win over Nashville, Simashev was more than ready for the challenge.

Besides an early penalty while recovering against Chicago’s Colton Dach, Simashev was making all the right plays. He was consistently in the right position, jarring pucks loose for his teammates to collect and being a disruptive force that even the likes of Connor Bedard struggled to get past.

Can Utah Mammoth Hold Steady Without Sean Durzi? Just when Utah thought defenseman injuries were a thing of the past, the team suffers a blow on its blue line.

He was also aggressive on offense, taking three shots. At one point, Simashev’s performance was so strong that Tourigny started pairing him with Mikhail Sergachev late in the game. Simashev started out paired with Ian Cole.

The fact that Simashev was able to elevate his performance like this with Durzi out is a great sign for Utah. If Simashev can play like this every game, Utah will be happy to give him lots of shifts.

And who knows, maybe Simashev could end up being a player getting some votes for the All-Rookie Team by the end of the year. 

Hayton Makes Season Debut  

While Utah took a hit losing Durzi last game, the team had to be happy to have Hayton back on the ice against the Blackhawks.

“It was great to get back out there,” Hayton said. “It’s what I love to do, being out there competing with the guys.”

Though Hayton didn’t have anything statistically notable happen tonight, it was clear that the Mammoth benefited from his return.

Moving back to the first line, Hayton was often trying to take the puck to the net like he usually does. While it didn’t succeed tonight in his first game back, that attitude on offense is something Utah needs more of in future games.

Hayton could also be the key to sparking Utah’s power play considering how close he likes to play to the net. But the best way for Hayton to be effective is if he creates these opportunities for himself.

Expect Hayton’s aggressiveness to increase in the coming games, with his first chance being Utah’s home opener against Calgary on Oct. 15.