Mammoth vs. Blue Jackets: Nick Schmaltz Scores Twice, Reaches 500 Career Points as Utah's Power Play Rolls

Logan Cooley threaded the puck through the seam, Dylan Guenther hammered it from the left circle, and a tight game in Columbus suddenly was not tight anymore. Guenther's power-play goal at 5:59 of the third period was the moment Utah stopped just surviving the Blue Jackets and started dictating terms.

The Utah Mammoth went on to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1 on Saturday night at Nationwide Arena, cashing in on three of their four power plays. Nick Schmaltz scored twice, the second one for his 500th NHL point, and the Mammoth are now 2-0-0 with a combined score of 10-1.

Two Quick Strikes, One Breakaway, Then a Slow Squeeze

Dmitri Voronkov's tripping minor at 10:45 of the first gave Utah its first chance with the extra skater, and Mikhail Sergachev needed only 70 seconds of it, firing a slap shot through traffic at 11:55. According to NHL.com, it was the first power-play goal Columbus had allowed in seven times shorthanded this season.

Less than five minutes later, Clayton Keller found Schmaltz low in the left circle, and Schmaltz one-timed it home at 16:31. That assist was Keller's 600th career NHL point, the first milestone of a night that would eventually produce two.

The Blue Jackets came out of the room with some juice. Matthew Knies chipped a pass off the boards to spring Kent Johnson on a breakaway, and Johnson slipped it between Sebastian Cossa's pads at 1:30 of the second. The rush started right after Jet Greaves had denied Keller with a pad save at the right post, a classic two-way swing. It was the first goal Utah had allowed all season, and for the rest of the middle frame, Columbus was right there.

The Turning Point: Denton Mateychuk's High Stick

Columbus had its own looks in the third, but went 0-for-2 on power plays drawn by holding calls on Sergachev and John Marino. Utah did not waste its chances. Denton Mateychuk was whistled for high-sticking Keller at 5:43, and 16 seconds later Cooley sent a cross-seam pass to Guenther, who one-timed it past Greaves for a 3-1 lead. That was his third power-play goal in two games, after a pair against Chicago in the opener.

Then Emil Andrae took a slashing penalty at 13:23, and Utah went right back to work. Cooley and Guenther moved it quickly, and Schmaltz finished at 14:13 for the 4-1 final and point No. 500. "Penalties kind of killed us tonight," Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski said. "Saturday night in our building, take an early penalty. They score on it and that's a team that feeds off touching the puck and feeling it."

Schmaltz, Guenther and a Debut Worth Remembering

Schmaltz's two goals were his second and third of the season, and he logged 17:39 while doing damage at both even strength and on the power play. Guenther was even better on the stat sheet: a goal, two assists and a big hand in each of the power-play strikes. Cooley added two assists, Keller had two more and Sergachev scored and assisted while playing 22:01.

Keller described the formula. "A lot of chances are started off quick puck movement, making sure that we're connecting on those passes, our 'D' are jumping up in the play, being more creative," he said. The AP noted that Keller now has 17 points in 17 career games against the Blue Jackets.

The quiet star, though, was in goal. Sebastian Cossa, in his Utah debut and first career NHL start, stopped 18 of 19 shots for a .947 save percentage. His only previous NHL appearance came in relief for Detroit back on Dec. 9, 2024. He was relaxed about it afterward. "The team played really well in front of me, so it was pretty easy for me tonight," Cossa said, before noting that he had once played in Toledo of the ECHL. "Ohio is calling my name," he added.

For Columbus, Greaves made 27 saves and could not be blamed for much. Knies picked up an assist for his fourth point in two games with the Blue Jackets, according to the AP. Werenski played a massive 31:43, and his partner Mateychuk logged 28:07, which tells you how hard the Blue Jackets leaned on that pairing.

Stats That Matter

• 3-for-4 vs. 0-for-2: The power plays. Utah cashed in; Columbus came up empty on both of its chances.
• 31-19: Utah's shot advantage, despite Columbus winning 56.5 percent of the faceoffs.
• 23: Shots blocked by the Blue Jackets. They sacrificed bodies and still gave up four.
• 500 and 600: Career points reached by Schmaltz and Keller on the same night.
• 10-1: Utah's combined score through two games.

What It Means

Utah is 2-0-0 and has outscored its first two opponents 10-1 after opening with a 6-0 rout of Chicago on Thursday. Five of those 10 goals have come on the power play, which is the kind of ratio that wins a lot of October games. This was also the first stop on a five-game road trip and the front end of a back-to-back, with a trip to Madison Square Garden to face the Rangers on Sunday. Cooley was already thinking about it. "With two wins, it's unbelievable, especially on the road against a really good team, a heavy team. So, it's a great start," he said.

Columbus falls to 1-1-0 after opening with a 6-3 home win over Buffalo, and it has given up the first goal in both games. Coach Rick Bowness did not mince words. "We look slow because of our transition. Was not even close to being good enough," he said. Center Sean Monahan agreed. "We've got to set a standard. I don't think we met it tonight," he said. The Blue Jackets get a long breather before hosting Pittsburgh on Friday, which gives them almost a week to fix the discipline issues.

Manny Would Be Proud

There is a little bit of Manny from Ice Age in this Utah team: big, patient and almost impossible to push around once it gets rolling. Two games, 10 goals for, one against. The herd is moving.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details from the Associated Press; postgame quotes and team notes as reported by NHL.com.