Barrett Hayton Returns for Game 5 as Utah Mammoth Tweak Lineup
Barrett Hayton returned to the utah mammoth lineup for Game 5 against the Vegas Golden Knights after missing time with an injury since March 20. The move gave Utah a needed center back for a playoff series that had already swung twice, with the Mammoth briefly in control after Game 3 before Vegas answered in Game 4 at home in Utah.
Hayton Back in Game 5
Hayton made his playoff debut for Utah in Game 5, and head coach Andre Tourigny trusted him enough to put him back in the lineup. He had missed 15 games, but the Mammoth still had enough confidence in his game to bring him back for a series that had tightened again.
That trust came after Hayton’s season had already been shaped by a different role. He had moved down the depth chart in Utah and accepted a more checking role, which made his return less about flash and more about giving the lineup another dependable center in a playoff game that mattered.
March 20 to Game 5
Hayton’s absence stretched back to March 20, and the timing made this return notable because Utah had already spent part of the series without him. The Mammoth stole one of the first two games over Vegas, won Game 3 on home ice, then watched the Golden Knights regain momentum in Game 4.
Utah had some reasons to lean on him again. Hayton was the fifth overall selection in the 2018 NHL Draft, had playoff experience from the 2019-20 season, and finished the 2025-26 season with 10 goals and 15 assists. He also had some 40+ point seasons with the Arizona Coyotes-turned Mammoth.
Vegas Pressure on Utah
The return mattered because the series had already moved back toward Vegas after Game 4 in Utah. Getting Hayton back gave the Mammoth another option down the middle as they tried to answer a momentum shift that followed their home loss.
For Utah, the simple change was a lineup one, but it came at the right time. A center who had been out since March 20 was back in Game 5, and the Mammoth were asking him to help steady a series that had stopped moving their way.
