Like his friend and longtime teammate, Schmaltz also hit a milestone in the win as he recorded his 500 career NHL point. He became the ninth player from the 2014 Draft to record 500 career points, and is the fifth Wisconsin-born player to reach the milestone. Schmaltz is the only player in franchise history to play every single one of Utah’s games, and is second in franchise scoring. As the team’s top line center, a member of the top power play unit, and a strong two-way player, Schmaltz continues to have an impact each game.
Utah’s third milestone involved offseason acquisition Sebastian Cossa, who had his first NHL start in his Mammoth debut against the Blue Jackets. Getting his first NHL start in Columbus was a full circle moment for the goaltender. For the majority of his first professional season, Cossa played for the Toledo Walleye in the ECHL. Two and a half hours south of where his pro career started, Cossa stopped 17 of the 18 shots he faced to earn his second career NHL win, and first with the Mammoth.
“He was great,” Schmaltz said of Cossa. “He looks super calm in there. “He was definitely a calming presence. He didn’t overreact to anything; he just looked steady in there. So huge congrats to him. Played a hell of a game.”
Utah’s netminder praised his teammates for their strong play in front of him, which helped him get the win on this special night.
“They didn’t really get any odd man rushes,” Cossa said of the team’s performance. “Kept the seam passes away, didn’t really have any high danger chances. A lot of stuff from the outside and we were beating them to the inside there after that too, so they weren’t getting second chances, and it made my life easy.”
In addition to these milestones and strong individual performances, Utah continued to play a team game with a high level of execution.
“I thought we kind of continued what we did in the first game,” Schmaltz said. “We were really fast, tough to defend. We didn’t let them change. We hemmed them in, especially in the second period. I thought the first half, they were on us a little bit, but the second half we really turned it up a notch, and I think we tired them out honestly.”
"Really good 60,” Tourigny said following the win. “Really like our focus. Tough team to play against, they're heavy. Four lines played really well. Our six (defensemen) played really well. Liked the gap of our D, liked the reload of our forwards. For sure, our special teams, no doubt about that. Great job by (Sebastian Cossa), first game and did a great job. Shout to Anders Lee, played a hell of a game. Same for (Michael Carcone) and (Kevin Stenlund), they were really, really good. Happy about the game."
It’s a quick turnaround for the Mammoth who will face the New York Rangers tomorrow night at Madison Square Garden. Utah will try to keep building off of two strong performances to start the season in tomorrow’s contest.
“Just keep continuing what we’ve been doing,” Schmaltz shared. “Power play’s been clicking, which is awesome. Anytime you can win the special teams battle you’re in a good spot. I liked all of our lines tonight. A lot of guys had a lot of chances, so hopefully they pop them in tomorrow.”
Additional Notes from Tonight
- Forward Dylan Guenther is the seventh different player in NHL history to open three consecutive seasons with goals in back-to-back games. He is one of three skaters to accomplish that feat in the last decade alongside Winnipeg’s Mark Scheifele and Philadelphia’s Travis Konecny (per Mammoth PR).
- Schmaltz and Guenther are tied for the team-lead with three goals each. Guenther’s five points are a team-high, while Keller’s four assists lead the Mammoth.
- Through Utah’s first two games, 15 of 18 skaters have recorded a point. Six of those skaters have multiple points.
Final Stats
Total Shots: UTA 31, CBJ 18
Power Play: UTA 3/4, CBJ 0/2
Hits: UTA 26, CBJ 21
Blocked Shots: CBJ 24, UTA 16
Face-Off %: CBJ 55.7%, UTA 44.3%
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