Mammoth's Karel Vejmelka: Earns first win of season
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Vejmelka stopped 20 of 22 shots he faced in Saturday's 3-2 overtime win over the Predators.
Vejmelka bounced back from the season-opening loss to the Avalanche on Thursday and earned his first win of the campaign. Given the opponent he faced in the first game of the campaign, it's safe to say Vejmelka is having a solid start to the season after posting a save percentage of at least .905 in both outings while stopping 45 of 49 shots faced so far. His next chance to play will come Monday against the Blackhawks, again on the road.
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Mammoth's Karel Vejmelka: Slated to start Saturday
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Vejmelka was the first netminder off the ice at the morning skate and is expected to defend the visiting cage against Nashville on Saturday, according to Cole Bagley of KSL Sports.
Vejmelka started the 2025-26 campaign with a 25-save effort in a 2-1 loss to Colorado on Thursday. Nashville is coming off a 2-1 win over Columbus in Thursday's season opener.
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Mammoth's Karel Vejmelka: Loses close game
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Vejmelka allowed two goals on 25 shots in Thursday's 2-1 loss to the Avalanche.
Vejmelka was steady, but the Mammoth didn't give him enough support on offense. The 29-year-old netminder went 26-22-8 with a 2.58 GAA and a .904 save percentage in 58 games a season ago, with all of those marks representing career bests. Vejmelka is the unquestioned starter over Vitek Vanecek to begin 2025-26 and will look to be steady at the back for a Utah team that has playoff aspirations. The Mammoth continue their season-opening road trip in Nashville on Saturday.
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Mammoth's Karel Vejmelka: Facing Avalanche
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Vejmelka was the first goaltender off the ice at morning skate, Cole Bagley of KSL Sports reports, and will get the Opening Night assignment in Colorado on Thursday.
Vejmelka took a huge step forward last season, posting a 26-22-8 mark with a 2.58 GAA and a .904 save percentage, far superior to 2023-24 when he went 13-19-2 with a 3.35 GAA and an .895 save percentage. The Avalanche won their first game of the season Tuesday, finding the back of the net on four occasions in a road win over Los Angeles.
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Mammoth's Karel Vejmelka: Expected to start Saturday
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Vejmelka is set to guard the home crease for Saturday's preseason game against San Jose, per Catherine Bogart of Utah's official site.
Vejmelka had a 26-22-8 record, 2.58 GAA and .904 save percentage across 58 outings with Utah last year. He's expected to start the upcoming campaign as the team's No. 1 goalie and will probably be between the pipes for Utah's regular-season opener at Colorado on Thursday.
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Mammoth's Karel Vejmelka: First off Thursday
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Vejmelka was the first goalie off the ice during Thursday's morning skate, Brogan Houston of Deseret News Sports reports, indicating that he'll draw the preseason home start against the Kings.
Vejmelka will make his third preseason start in what could be his final chance to suit up before the start of the regular season. The 29-year-old went 26-22-8 with a 2.58 GAA and .904 save percentage last year, and he'll likely serve as the Mammoth's Opening Night starter against the Avalanche next Thursday.
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Mammoth's Karel Vejmelka: In goal Monday
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Vejmelka will defend the road blue paint in Monday's preseason contest against the Ducks, per Cole Bagley of KSL Sports.
Vejmelka is cemented as the Mammoth's No. 1 netminder heading into the 2025-26 campaign. The 29-year-old received workhorse usage last season, registering a 26-22-8 record, 2.58 GAA and .904 save percentage across 58 outings. Jaxson Stauber will compete with Vitek Vanecek for backup duties behind Vejmelka this year.
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Hockey Club's Karel Vejmelka: Gives up six goals
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Vejmelka stopped 23 of 29 shots in Tuesday's 6-1 loss to St. Louis.
Vejmelka was beaten four times in the first period, including thrice over a 6:37 stretch and twice on the power play, and Utah couldn't even sniff a comeback. Vejmelka settled down afterwards and only gave up two goals the rest of the way, but the damage was already done. This was Utah's final game of the regular season, and the team had been eliminated from playoff contention for quite some time. This means the 28-year-old ends the 2024-25 campaign with a 26-22-8 record and career-high marks in both GAA (2.58) and save percentage (.904) across 58 starts -- also a personal best.
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Hockey Club's Karel Vejmelka: Rides strong power play to win
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Vejmelka stopped 21 of 24 shots in Saturday's 5-3 win over the Stars.
Vejmelka has won five of his last seven outings, though this was the third time he's given up three goals in that span. The 28-year-old benefited from Utah's power play going a perfect 4-for-4 in the contest. Vejmelka is up to 26-21-8 with a 2.52 GAA and a .906 save percentage over 57 appearances. He's started 23 games in a row, but he may catch a breather soon since Utah's season ends with a back-to-back. The team's last two games are Monday in Nashville and Tuesday in St. Louis.
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Hockey Club's Karel Vejmelka: Between pipes Saturday
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Vejmelka will defend the road crease in Dallas on Saturday, Belle Fraser of The Salt Lake Tribune reports.
Vejmelka will make his 23rd straight start. The 28-year-old is 25-21-8 with one shutout, a 2.51 GAA and a .907 save percentage in 2024-25. Dallas is fourth in the NHL with 3.38 goals per game this season but may have some difficulty Saturday as the flu bug is going through the team's locker room.
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Hockey Club's Karel Vejmelka: Loses in shootout
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Vejmelka allowed three goals on 31 shots in Thursday's 4-3 shootout loss to the Predators.
Vejmelka took just his second loss in his last six outings. The 28-year-old squandered a two-goal lead before giving up the lone shootout tally to Filip Forsberg. For the season, Vejmelka is 25-21-8 with a 2.51 GAA and a .907 save percentage over 56 appearances. Vejmelka has started 22 consecutive games, and it's unclear if head coach Andre Tourigny has any plans to give the netminder rest after Utah was eliminated from playoff contention while idle Wednesday. Utah's last three games are on the road, beginning with Saturday's matchup against the Stars.
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Hockey Club's Karel Vejmelka: Expected to start Thursday
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Vejmelka was the first goaltender off the ice at morning practice, per Cole Bagley of KSL Sports, indicating he is slated to start at home versus Nashville on Thursday.
Vejmelka will make his 22nd straight start. He has been solid of late, going 4-1-1 in his last six starts, allowing only 10 goals on 166 shots (.940 save percentage). Vejmelka is 25-21-7 with a 2.51 GAA and a .907 save percentage, easily the best season in his four-year NHL career. The Predators are the lowest-scoring team in the NHL this season, registering only 2.54 goals per game.
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Hockey Club's Karel Vejmelka: Barely challenged in win
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Vejmelka stopped 18 of 19 shots in Tuesday's 7-1 win over the Kraken.
Vejmelka has turned things around lately with four wins over his last five contests. The 28-year-old goalie has allowed just eight goals in that span. He's up to 25-21-7 on the season with a 2.51 GAA and a .907 save percentage over 55 appearances. This was Vejmelka's 21st consecutive start, and while Utah's playoff chances are incredibly thin, he'll likely continue to start while they're in contention. They could be eliminated if the Wild beat the Sharks on Wednesday -- if not, expect Vejmelka between the pipes Thursday against the Predators.
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Hockey Club's Karel Vejmelka: First off at morning skate
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Vejmelka is expected to draw his 21st consecutive start against the Kraken on Tuesday, according to Cole Bagley of KSL Sports.
While it's atypical for a starting goaltender to start this many games in a row, head coach Andre Tourigny won't allow his team to fade quietly from postseason contention over the final stretch of the season. Vejmelka's statline during his 20-game starting streak has been decent -- he's 11-6-3 with a 2.48 GAA and a .901 save percentage in that period. Seattle is on the second half of a back-to-back after defeating the Kings 2-1 on Monday, while Utah has been off since Saturday.
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Hockey Club's Karel Vejmelka: Impresses vs. Winnipeg
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Vejmelka stopped 32 of 33 shots in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Jets.
Vejmelka was beaten by Mark Scheifele in the early stages of the third period with a power-play goal, but other than that, Vejemelka looked impressive between the pipes en route to his third win over his last four appearances. Vejmelka has been an absolute workhorse for Utah, appearing in each of the team's last 20 games. He's 11-6-3 with a 2.48 GAA and a .901 save percentage over that span.
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Hockey Club's Karel Vejmelka: Starting again Saturday
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Vejmelka will patrol the crease at home against Winnipeg on Saturday, Belle Fraser of The Salt Lake Tribune reports.
Vejmelka will be making his 20th consecutive appearance between the pipes as Utah tries to force its way into the playoff picture. The heavy workload does appear to be getting to the 28-year-old backstop, as he is just 2-3-1 in his last six outings while posting a 2.88 GAA and .884 save percentage. Until Utah is officially eliminated, Vejmelka could continue to see all of the starts -- especially considering the club has no back-to-backs until the final two games of the year.
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Hockey Club's Karel Vejmelka: Poor showing against Kings
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Vejmelka allowed three goals on 18 shots in Thursday's 4-2 loss to the Kings. The fourth goal was an empty-netter.
The Kings didn't find much success over the first two periods, but a pair of goals 44 seconds apart early in the third sent Vejmelka to the loss. The 28-year-old netminder had won his previous two starts and is 10-6-3 over a stretch of 19 consecutive starts. Vejmelka is 23-21-7 with a 2.56 GAA and a .904 save percentage through a career-high 53 appearances this season. He'll likely continue to play at least until Utah is mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, so don't be surprised if he's between the pipes versus the Jets on Saturday -- though fantasy managers may want to steer clear of that matchup.
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Hockey Club's Karel Vejmelka: Tending twine Thursday
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Vejmelka will be between the home pipes versus the Kings on Thursday, Belle Fraser of The Salt Lake Tribune reports.
Vejmelka will make his 19th straight start for Utah. He has won his last two games, allowing three goals on 63 shots in victories over Chicago and Calgary. Vejmelka is 23-20-7 with a 2.56 GAA and a .905 save percentage over 52 contests in 2024-25. The Kings are generating 2.95 goals per game this season, 18th in the league.
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Hockey Club's Karel Vejmelka: Between pipes Tuesday
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Vejmelka will draw the home start Tuesday versus the Flames, Belle Fraser of The Salt Lake Tribune reports.
Vejmelka will make his 18th straight start Tuesday as Utah continues to tread water outside of the Western Conference playoff picture. The 28-year-old owns a 22-20-7 record, .904 save percentage and 2.59 GAA over 51 appearances this season. The Flames are on the second half of a back-to-back -- they overcame a 2-0 deficit and earned a 3-2 shootout win over the Avalanche on Monday.
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Hockey Club's Karel Vejmelka: Gets back to winning ways
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Vejmelka stopped 27 of 29 shots in Sunday's 5-2 win over the Blackhawks.
Vejmelka gave up two goals across a four-minute stretch in the second period, but other than that, he was excellent between the posts to secure his first win since March 22. Despite the win, the overall numbers haven't been kind to Vejmelka of late. He is 3-2-1 in his last six appearances, but he's also posted a 3.24 GAA and a less-than-inspiring .871 save percentage in that span.
