Who is favoured, Utah Mammoth or Chicago Blackhawks?

Utah Mammoth, at 55.9% in PuckCast's preseason forecast. That is a rating-based forecast; the full model read, with goalies, rest and form, publishes within seven days of puck drop.

What is a preseason forecast?

A win probability from each team's regressed preseason rating and home ice, the same ratings behind the 2026-27 projected standings. Those ratings are calibrated at the season level, for standings and playoff odds; this single-game percentage is a plain rating formula and has not been graded on its own yet. It is deliberately unsure about any single game, and the confidence grade says how far it leans.

When does the real prediction publish?

Inside the seven-day window before the game. The model re-scores it on every refresh until puck drop, with the confirmed starting goalies, and this page shows that read instead of the forecast.

Utah Mammoth at Chicago Blackhawks, Sat, Dec 12: prediction and odds forecast

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2026-27 forecast · Sat, Dec 12, 7:00 PM ET

Utah MammothUTA

99 proj. pts · 60.8% playoffs

Karel Vejmelka · 0.897 SV%

Bvs7:00 PM ET

Chicago BlackhawksCHI

83 proj. pts · 25.9% playoffs

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

The read

Preseason ratings · last season’s record

UTA controlled play at 5v5 last season, 52.6% of the expected goals to 43.7%; UTA's power play ran at 19.1% against a CHI kill at 83.6%.

In goal, neither team has named a starter. Last season Spencer Knight (CHI) saved -12.5 goals above expected to Karel Vejmelka's -22.7, on save percentages of 0.902 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 Chicago Blackhawks is where it starts, not where it ends.

In goal

goalie board

No starter is named this far out. These are each side’s projected starters on the current roster, with last season’s numbers.

UTA

Karel Vejmelka

SV%: 0.897
GSAx: -22.7
GAA: 2.75
Record: 38-20-3

64 games, 2025-26

CHI

Spencer Knight

SV%: 0.902
GSAx: -12.5
GAA: 2.82
Record: 19-25-11

55 games, 2025-26

UTA	Metric	CHI
52.6%	xGF% (5v5)	43.7%
51.2%	Shot share	45.1%
3.3	Goals for / game	2.6
3.0	Goals against / game	3.3
19.1%	Power play	17.0%
78.3%	Penalty kill	83.6%
49.1%	Faceoffs	46.0%

Who drives it

2026-27 projected points

Utah Mammoth

Player	Pos	G	A	Pts
Clayton Keller	R	27	53	80
Dylan Guenther	R	33	33	66
Logan Cooley	C	29	33	61
Nick Schmaltz	C	22	37	59

Chicago Blackhawks

Player	Pos	G	A	Pts
Connor Bedard	C	31	52	83

Last season, head to head

ledger

Date	Game	Pick	Score	Result
2026-03-12	CHI @ UTA	UTA	CHI 3–2 UTA	Missed
2026-03-09	UTA @ CHI	UTA	UTA 2–3 CHI	Missed
2026-03-01	CHI @ UTA	UTA	CHI 4–0 UTA	Missed
2025-10-13	UTA @ CHI	UTA	UTA 1–3 CHI	Missed

Season outlook

projected standings

Team	Proj. points	Playoff odds
Utah Mammoth	99	60.8%
Chicago Blackhawks	83	25.9%