John Marino’s arrival has helped steady the backend without Sergachev. The defenseman — who was traded to Utah this summer from the New Jersey Devils — made his team debut on Jan. 14 and has played in four games. The 27-year-old missed training camp and the first half of the year after undergoing lower-back surgery in October.

Utah Hockey Club head coach André Tourigny told media Saturday morning that star defenseman Mikhail Sergachev will miss some time with an upper-body injury. Sergachev, 26, has played the second-most minutes per game of any NHL skater this season.

Game Preview, 1/11: Utah Hockey Club vs. New York Islanders WHEN: 7:00 p.m. MT WHERE: Delta Center - Salt Lake City, Utah TV: SEG+, UtahHC+, Utah 16 | RADIO: KSL News Radio 1160 AM, NHL App

This affiliate content is not influenced by our advertising relationships, but AP and Data Skrive might earn commissions from our partners’ links in this content.

Central Division opponents meet when the Minnesota Wild play the Utah Hockey Club. Minnesota has gone 28-15-4 overall with a 10-6-2 record in Central Division play. The Wild are 26-2-2 when scoring three or more goals.

The Utah Hockey Club's attempt to use 'Yeti' as their team name was denied due to potential confusion with the Yeti brand.