Utah Mammoth @ Columbus Blue Jackets: Season 26 Game 2 Recap

After a thrilling 6-3 win against the Buffalo Sabers Thursday night to open the 2026-27 Columbus Blue Jackets' season, the team would look to their second game of the season, also at home, against the Utah Mammoth. The Mammoth won their home opener, too, the same night as our Columbus Blue Jackets, shutting out the Chicago Blackhawks, 6-0. Tonight was expected to be a good game, and it was.  

The visiting Mammoth would go on the power play at 10:45 into period 1 after Dimitri Voronkov tripped Jack McBain. This power play would matter because it would be their second of the game already, but the first they'd capitalize on. Mikhail Sergachev. This goal would be his first of the season. Dylan Guenther added his first assist of the season on the primary, while Clayton Keller would add his third assist of the season on the secondary. Nick Schmaltz would double the Mammoth lead at 16:31 with his second goal of the season. Clayton Keller would add his second assist, fourth of the season, on the primary, while John Marino would add his first assist of the season on the secondary. The Blue Jackets had no answer, and the Mammoth led 2-0 after the first 20 minutes of play tonight.  

The only goal in period 2 cut the Mammoth's lead to one. Kent Johnson scored his first goal of the season at 1:30, and Matthew Knies added his second assist of the season on this goal. That's his fourth point in less than 2 games. I knew this twenty-three-year-old forward was good from his stats, but he's impressed me, and much of the 5th Line. We'd head into period 3 with a tight 2-1 Mammoth lead, but the Blue Jackets would go back to their old ways, and it would cause them to lose this game. 

Dylan Guenther would add his third goal of the season, giving himself a multi-point night, at 5:59. This goal would come seconds after Denton Mateychuk went to the box for a 2-minute penalty after high-sticking Clayton Keller. Logan Cooley and Mikhail Sergachev would each gain their second assists on this third goal by the Mammoth. Mikhail Sergachev would also gain a multi-point night with that assist. Then, Nick Schmaltz would score his second goal of the game, third this season, at 14:13. Logan Cooley would add his second assist of the night, third this season, while Dylan Guenther would add his second assist of the season and night. This goal would also come on the power play as Emil Andrae sat in the box for 2 minutes after slashing Anders Lee. This would be the final goal of the game as the Mammoth claim their 2 points, winning 4-1. 

This game was the absolute opposite of Thursday's. The penalty kill wasn't clicking. The shots on goal were very low: 4 in the 1st, 7 in the 2nd, and 7 in the 3rd. Meanwhile, the Mammoth got to Jet Greaves 13 times in the 1st, 7 times in the 2nd, and 11 times in the 3rd. That's a huge difference in a 4-1 loss. In postgame, Rick Bowness pointed out that, if not for the penilties, this was an even game, and he's right. The Mammoth had all Three Stars of the Game: Third Star: Mikhail Sergachev with a 1-1-2. Second Star: Nick Schmaltz with a 2-0-2. Third Star: Dylan Guenther with a 1-2-3. I hope the team's leadership works on this over the next five days. We don't play again till Friday, when we host the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are a rival of ours. I want to see this team come out swinging like they did Thursday; we know they're capable. The puck will drop at 7:00 p.m. 

Go CBJ!

A Note:

I posted this on my Facebook and X accounts, but I wanted to say it one more time at the end of this post. My condolences to the family, friends, and teammates of Lyle Odelein. He was the first to ever wear the 'C' in Columbus, and it's devastating to learn he passed away Friday at the age of 58. He was here for the 25th anniversary celebration of the team last season, and it's another somber reminder to us all that we don't know when our time here will end.