COLUMBUS — The Blue Jackets could not have asked for much more from their season opener.
Now they get a chance to prove it was not just a one-night stand.
Columbus hosts the Utah Mammoth Saturday night at Nationwide Arena after opening the season with a 6-3 win over Buffalo. Matthew Knies scored twice and added an assist in his Blue Jackets debut, Charlie Coyle had three assists, and Columbus got contributions throughout a lineup that looked noticeably deeper than it did a year ago.
Utah comes in with an equally impressive start.
The Mammoth opened their season Thursday with a 6-0 win over Chicago, getting points from 14 different skaters while Karel Vejmelka stopped all 15 shots he faced. Utah will start Sebastian Cossa in net Saturday as the Mammoth begin a five-game road trip.
That makes this a useful early measuring stick for a Blue Jackets team trying to build on the energy of opening night.
Rick Bowness is expected to use the same lineup that beat Buffalo, including the top line of Knies, Adam Fantilli, and Kent Johnson. That group made an immediate impression Thursday, while the rest of the offense also produced enough depth scoring to keep Buffalo from focusing on one line.
The bigger question may be whether Columbus can tighten things up defensively.
Buffalo stayed within striking distance for most of Thursday’s game and scored three times on Jet Greaves, who stopped 23 of 26 shots. Utah has enough skill up front with Clayton Keller, Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther, and Vincent Trocheck to punish mistakes if Columbus gets loose in its own zone.
Columbus will again be without Dante Fabbro, Ivan Provorov, and Damon Severson on the blue line, leaving Zach Werenski, Denton Mateychuk, Carson Soucy, Emil Andrae, Jake Christiansen, and Erik Gudbranson to handle Utah’s depth.
It is far too early to draw conclusions from one game, but Columbus has a chance Saturday to do something it did not do often enough last season: follow a strong performance with another one.
Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET at Nationwide Arena.
