PuckCast Edge
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2026-27 forecast · Sat, Oct 24, 9:00 PM ET
Karel Vejmelka · 0.897 SV%
The preseason ratings make Utah Mammoth 51.0% to win at home — barely a lean at all, worth 1.0 points over a coin flip, which grades C. Over a full season those same ratings project UTA for 99 points and TBL for 104.
A preseason forecast from each team's regressed rating and home ice, the ratings behind the projected standings. The full model read, with the starting goalies, rest and form, publishes within seven days of the game and replaces this page’s numbers. How the model works
TBL controlled play at 5v5 last season, 54.1% of the expected goals to 52.6%; UTA's power play ran at 19.1% against a TBL kill at 82.4%.
In goal, neither team has named a starter. Last season Andrei Vasilevskiy (TBL) saved 1.5 goals above expected to Karel Vejmelka's -22.7, on save percentages of 0.912 and 0.897.
None of that is the model read. This is a rating-and-home-ice forecast; the full prediction — confirmed goalies, rest and form, priced against the market — publishes inside the seven days before puck drop and replaces these numbers. Utah Mammoth over Tampa Bay Lightning is where it starts, not where it ends.
No starter is named this far out. These are each side’s projected starters on the current roster, with last season’s numbers.
TBL
Andrei Vasilevskiy
58 games, 2025-26
UTA
Karel Vejmelka
64 games, 2025-26
| TBL | Metric | UTA |
|---|---|---|
| 54.1% | xGF% (5v5) | 52.6% |
| 51.6% | Shot share | 51.2% |
| 3.4 | Goals for / game | 3.3 |
| 2.8 | Goals against / game | 3.0 |
| 20.4% | Power play | 19.1% |
| 82.4% | Penalty kill | 78.3% |
| 47.1% | Faceoffs | 49.1% |
Tampa Bay Lightning
| Player | Pos | G | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 33 | 67 | 100 | |
| L | 31 | 43 | 74 | |
| C | 32 | 40 | 72 | |
| C | 29 | 36 | 65 |
Utah Mammoth
| Player | Pos | G | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 27 | 53 | 80 |
| Date | Game | Pick | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-01-26 | UTA @ TBL | TBL | UTA 0–2 TBL | Correct |
| 2025-11-02 | TBL @ UTA | TBL | TBL 4–2 UTA | Correct |
| Team | Proj. points | Playoff odds |
|---|---|---|
| Tampa Bay Lightning | 104 | 65.7% |
| Utah Mammoth | 99 | 60.8% |
Forecast method preseason-elo-v1; ratings as of 2026-08-19.
| R | 33 | 33 | 66 |
| C | 29 | 33 | 61 |
| C | 22 | 37 | 59 |