Mammoth’s Dylan Guenther, Logan Cooley Out

The Utah Mammoth will be without one of their top forwards for at least a week. Winger Dylan Guenther has been placed on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury per the NHL media site. Guenther did not practice on Tuesday. Head coach Andre Tourigny said it was a maintenance day and that Guenther was “pretty banged up” per Brogan Houston of Deseret Sports.

Shortly after placing Guenther on IR, the Mammoth announced that he is recovering from an upper-body injury and is expected to miss two-to-four weeks.

Utah also placed Nate Schmidt on IR, while Kailer Yamamoto has been activated. Schmidt was injured in last Thursday’s overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens. He was initially listed as day-to-day and sat out of Saturday’s loss to Ottawa. A move to IR will force Schmidt out of Wednesday’s game – but he could be activated as soon as Thursday. Yamamoto hasn’t played since October 29th due to an upper-body injury. He practiced in full on Tuesday and should return to a bottom-six role against Vegas.

In addition to those roster moves, Utah will also be without forward Logan Cooley on Wednesday. The Mammoth star is out day-to-day with an upper-body injury per Cole Bagley of KSL Sports. In response to their injuries, the Mammoth have recalled forward Danil But from the AHL.

With one fell swoop, much of Utah’s top-end has been forced out. Guenther and Cooley have continued to form a strong pairing on the Mammoth’s top-line this season. Guenther has scored six goals and 12 points, while Cooley has a team-leading 11 goals to go with 21 points. Both have played in 18 games. They continue to outperform opponents in their minutes together, as well, with a 51.5 expected goals-for percentage (xGF%) per HockeyStats.com.

Utah will need to lean much more on Clayton Keller following these injuries. The 28 year old has a team-leading 24 points in 18 games this season. He is expected to reform his longtime tandem with Nick Schmaltz on Wednesday, after finding a strong groove with Anders Lee for much of the year. Lee – who has eight points – will shift to the wing of Barrett Hayton on the third-line.

Hayton could be a beneficiary of Cooley’s absence. He is one of seven Mammoth with double-digit scoring this season, boasting 10 points in 18 appearances. He has also recorded a 52.1 faceoff percentage and 14 shot blocks.

These shifts will also return But to the NHL lineup. The former first-round pick was assigned to the minor-leagues on Halloween. He has since scored one point in three games with the Tucson Roadrunners. Before that assignment, But has racked up four points in 13 appearances with the Mammoth, after breaking camp with the team to start the season. He split time between the majors and minors last year as well, notching seven points in 29 NHL games and 39 points in 41 AHL games. But is listed on Utah’s top-line next to Keller and Schmaltz for Wednesday night’s matchup. He could stay a top option for the duration of Guenther’s absence.