Utah Starts Road Trip in Columbus

THE DETAILS

WHO: Utah (1-0-0) vs Columbus (1-0-0)

WHEN: Oct. 3, 2026 – 5:00 p.m. MT

WHERE: Nationwide Arena 

TV: Utah16, Mammoth+

RADIO: Mammoth App, NHL App, NHL.com, KSL Sports Zone (97.5FM), KSL Sports App

MORNING SKATE NOTES

• Check Back After Morning Skate at 10:30 a.m. ET

THE PREVIEW

Tonight’s Matchup

Utah

• Utah started its season strong with a 6-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday.

• The Mammoth had a new franchise-high with 14 skaters on the scoresheet in their first game of the season. Anders Lee (1G), Vincent Trocheck (1A), Andrew Peeke (1A) all had a point in their Mammoth debuts.

• Goaltender Karel Vejmelka stopped all 15 shots he faced in Utah’s first home shutout in franchise history.

• Forward Dylan Guenther has scored in each of Utah’s three home openers. He’s one of four players in NHL history to do so.

• Saturday’s game is the start of a back-to-back. The Mammoth will play the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Sunday at 4 PM MT.

Columbus

• Columbus also opened its season with a win. The Blue Jackets beat the Buffalo Sabres, 6-3. 

• Days after he was traded, in his Blue Jackets debut, Matthew Knies had two goals and an assist for a three point night. He leads Columbus in goals and is tied with Charlie Coyle for the team-lead with three points.

• Jet Greaves stopped 23 of the 26 shots he faced. He had a .885 save percentage in the win.

• Columbus had 12 players on the scoresheet in the season opener. Three players had multi-point nights: Knies (2G, 1A), Coyle (3A), and Zach Werenski (2A).

• Saturday’s game is the second on a three-game homestand. After hosting the Mammoth, the Blue Jackets will have five days off before their next game.

By the Numbers

• Utah won 72.2% of its faceoffs in the home opener. This was a new franchise-high for the Mammoth.

• Columbus went 2-for-3 on the power play in Thursday’s game (66.7%). Knies scored on the man-advantage in the first period, while Sean Monahan had the Blue Jackets other power play goal in the third period.

Upcoming Mammoth Milestones

• Clayton Keller: 600 career NHL points, 2 points away

• Nick Schmaltz: 500 career NHL points, 2 points away

• Mikhail Sergachev: 300 career NHL assists, 3 assists away

• Bill Armstrong: 200 career NHL wins, 5 wins away

Against Columbus This Season 

• This is the first of two games between Utah and Columbus this season.

Season Series

• Oct. 3: UTA vs CBJ

• Feb. 17: CBJ vs UTA

Upcoming Schedule

• Oct. 4: UTA vs NYR

• Oct. 6: UTA vs NJD

• Oct. 8: UTA vs BOS