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Detroit Red WIngs vs Utah Mammoth December 17 2025 - In Play! magazine
The Mammoth came out victorious Wednesday night over the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena. Photo: Tim Jarrold - In Play! magazine
18
Dec

NHL DECEMBER 17 2025 – GUENTHER LIFTS MAMMOTH TO VICTORY ON TNT DOUBLEHEADER

Dylan Guenther scored one of his team’s four goals to help the Mammoth (17-16-3, 37 points) best the Detroit Red Wings and gain ground on the Kings (14-10-9, 37 points) and idle Sharks (17-14-3, 37 points) in the Western Conference Wild Card race. Guenther’s goal marked his seventh since Dec. 1, making him the third Mammoth player to record at least that many in a calendar month, following Logan Cooley (8) and Nick Schmaltz (7), who both did so this past October. Only three players League-wide have more goals this December: Connor McDavid (9), Alex DeBrincat (8) and Nathan MacKinnon (8).

PANTHERS, HURRICANES CONTINUE SUCCESSFUL CALENDAR YEARS WITH WINS

The back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Panthers (18-13-2, 38 points) and Metropolitan Division-leading Hurricanes (22-9-2, 46 points) each skated to a victory against an interconference foe and bolstered their success this calendar year. They are two of seven teams with 50-plus wins in the regular season and playoffs combined since Jan. 1.

  • Sam Bennett (1-0—1) found the back of 10 seconds into the third period – the fastest goal to start a period by Florida this season – to help the Panthers defeat the Kings and move within one point of the Devils for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, after New Jersey withstood Vegas’ third-period comeback attempt. It marked Bennett’s 23rd game-winning goal with the Panthers, which tied him with Stephen Weiss, Pavel Bure and his teammate Carter Verhaeghe for the sixth most in franchise history.
  • Sebastian Aho (2-1—3) factored on two Hurricanes third-period goals in a span of 1:50 and helped his club extend the NHL’s longest active win streak to five games (tied w/ MIN). Aho, the fifth player in franchise history with 70 career power-play goals, potted three points in a period for the ninth time in his career, which trails only Ron Francis (17) and Eric Staal (12) for the most in franchise history; his 21 career multi-goal periods passed Francis (20) for the second most in franchise history, behind Staal (25).

CROSBY’S POTENTIAL RECORD NIGHT ON TAP THURSDAY

Twenty teams will take to the ice Thursday, highlighted by a showdown between the Flyers and Sabres on ESPN+. The Penguins will also be in action as Sidney Crosby enters two back of putting his name atop the franchise’s all-time points list.

  • The Sabres are set to contest their first game under new general manager Jarmo Kekalainen – the franchise is 4-2-3 in their first games under a new GM. Despite currently sitting 16th in the Eastern Conference standings, Buffalo has picked up three straight wins and are only seven points back of the playoff line. Tage Thompson (16-13—29 in 32 GP) leads the team in scoring and can extend his goal streak to five games for the third time in his career – only Gilbert Perreault (5x) and Rene Robert (4x) have done so more for the franchise.
  • Leading the way for Philadelphia in 2025-26 has been Trevor Zegras (14-19—33 in 32 GP). Zegras paces all players on new teams this season and has found the score sheet in each of his past five outings, including a goal in his past four. He can become the 10th different player in Flyers history with a five-game goal streak in his first season with the club.
  • Crosby (19-16—35) has found the score sheet in six of eight contests in December thus far and can climb several all-time lists with either a goal or assist tonight. He can tie Mario Lemieux (1,723) for the most points in Penguins history as well as eighth place on the League’s all-time list; he can match Adam Oates (1,079) for eighth place on the NHL’s all-time assists list; and he can become the seventh player in League history to register at least 18 career 20-goal seasons.
Guest Writer