COLUMBUS — The Blue Jackets gave themselves a chance to stay in Saturday night's game against the Utah Mammoth, but a rough night on special teams ultimately proved too much to overcome.
Utah scored three times on four power-play opportunities and held Columbus to 17 shots on goal in a 4-1 win at Nationwide Arena. The loss dropped the Blue Jackets to 1-1-0 after opening the season with a 6-3 victory over Buffalo.
Columbus found itself in trouble early after taking two first-period penalties. The Mammoth capitalized on the second when Mikhail Sergachev scored on the power play at 11:55 to give Utah a 1-0 lead.
Nick Schmaltz doubled the advantage at 16:31, beating Jet Greaves for his second goal of the season. Utah controlled much of the opening period and outshot Columbus 13-4 while taking a 2-0 lead into the intermission.
The Blue Jackets responded almost immediately in the second. Just 1:30 into the period, Matthew Knies found Kent Johnson, who scored his first goal of the season to cut the deficit to 2-1.
Greaves kept Columbus within a goal for the remainder of the period, and the Blue Jackets entered the third still within striking distance. Columbus began creating more opportunities after a difficult opening 20 minutes, but Sebastian Cossa prevented the Jackets from finding an equalizer in his first NHL start.
Special teams then decided the game.
Denton Mateychuk was called for high-sticking 5:43 into the third period, and Dylan Guenther needed just 16 seconds to capitalize, scoring on the power play to push Utah's lead to 3-1.
Columbus received another opportunity with the man advantage later in the period but again came away empty. The Jackets finished 0-for-2 on the power play.
Utah put the game away after Emil Andrae was called for slashing with 6:37 remaining. Schmaltz scored his second goal of the night 50 seconds later, giving the Mammoth their third power-play goal and a 4-1 lead.
Greaves finished with 23 saves on 27 shots, while Cossa stopped 16 of the 17 shots he faced. Utah finished with a 27-17 advantage in shots on goal.
Johnson provided Columbus' lone goal, while Knies picked up his fourth point in his first two games as a Blue Jacket with the assist. Columbus struggled to generate sustained offensive pressure for much of the night after scoring six times in its season opener.
The biggest difference, however, was the fact that Utah converted three of its four power-play opportunities while Columbus failed on both of its chances with the extra skater. In a game that remained within one goal until early in the third period, that disparity proved decisive.
What’s Next
The Blue Jackets have nearly a week off before returning to Nationwide Arena on Friday, Oct. 9, against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
