Saturday, October 3, 2026 – 7:00 PM EDT
Nationwide Arena – Columbus, Ohio
TV: Blue Jackets Hockey Network (available on Spectrum, Prime Video, Fubo, and ???); Radio: 97.1 FM
Utah Mammoth (1-0-0, 2 points, 1st Central, 2nd West)
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Columbus Blue Jackets (1-0-0, 2 points, 3rd Metro, 5th East)
Following a tumultuous offseason, culminating with the Matthew Knies blockbuster on the eve of the NHL season, the Jackets started the year a perfect 1-0, thanks to three points each from Knies and Charlie Coyle in a 6-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Opening Night. Now, they look to continue their momentum against the Utah Mammoth before getting a week off.
Jackets Notes
Knies was the first Blue Jacket in franchise history to score twice in his CBJ debut, and tied Artemi Panarin’s three points from 2017. … Columbus will run it back with the same lineup as last night. While it’s reported that Connor Garland will return to the second line, he swapped with Dmitri Voronkov early in Thursday’s game. … Jake Christiansen only played seven minutes, leaving a bit of a chaotic defensive rotation. We’ll see if that continues.
The Other Bench
The Mammoth enter their third season in Utah looking to return to the playoffs after finishing as WC1 last year. … Offseason additions include Anders Lee, Vincent Trocheck, Sebastian Cossa, and former Blue Jacket Andrew Peeke.
2025-26 Season Stats
| Utah | Columbus | |
| 3.27 (12) | GPG | 3.00 (19) |
| 2.93 (11) | GAPG | 3.06 (17) |
| 20.0% (18) | PP% | 18.9% (22) |
| 78.1% (19) | PK% | 76.0% (28) |
| 52.9% (4) | 5v5 Shot Attempt % | 51.1% (11) |
| 52.9% (4) | 5v5 Unblocked Shot Attempt % | 50.5% (12) |
| 10.3% (7) | 5v5 Shooting % | 9.1% (22) |
| .900 (21) | 5v5 Save % | .911 (10) |
| Dylan Guenther, 40 | G Leader | Kirill Marchenko, 27 |
| Clayton Keller, 62 | A Leader | Zach Werenski, 59 |
| Clayton Keller, 88 | P Leader | Zach Werenski, 81 |
| Jack McBain, 84 | PIM Leader | Matthieu Olivier, 101 |
| 21-17-3 | Home/Road | 20-13-8 |
Projected Lineups
Columbus Blue Jackets
| Matthew Knies | Adam Fantilli | Kent Johnson |
| Valeri Nichushkin | Sean Monahan | Dmitri Voronkov |
| Cole Sillinger | Charlie Coyle | Mattieu Olivier |
| Ryan Lomberg | Danton Heinen | Connor Garland |
| Zach Werenski | Denton Mateychuk |
| Emil Andrae | Carson Soucy |
| Jake Christiansen | Erik Gudbranson |
| Jet Greaves |
| Cam Talbot |
Utah Mammoth
| Clayton Keller | Nick Schmaltz | Vincent Trocheck |
| Anders Lee | Logan Cooley | Dylan Guenther |
| Lawson Crouse | Barrett Hayton | Jack McBain |
| Michael Carcone | Kevin Stenlund | Daniil But |
| Mikhail Sergachev | MacKenzie Weegar |
| Nate Schmidt | John Marino |
| Dmitri Simashev | Andrew Peeke |
| Karel Vejmelka |
| Sebastian Cossa |