The Utah Mammoth wasted no time showing that their early-season formula is working.
On the second stop of a five-game Eastern Conference road trip, Utah rolled past the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1 on Saturday night to stay unbeaten at 2-0, and the biggest difference was impossible to miss: the power play is humming. The Mammoth scored three times with the extra man, turning special teams into the engine behind another convincing win.
That unit looked every bit as sharp as it did in the opener. Nick Schmaltz said the group carried over the same pace and urgency.
“I thought we continued what we did in the first game,” Nick Schmaltz said. “We were really fast, tough to defend.
We didn’t let them change. We hemmed them in.”
“I think we tired them out, honestly.”
The key, as Utah sees it, is speed - not just moving the puck quickly, but refusing to let the play stagnate. Schmaltz described a group that was connecting on short passes, moving tape to tape, and getting into dangerous areas before Columbus could settle in. Logan Cooley pointed to the same formula.
“I feel like that’s how a lot of chances are started of quick puck movement,” Logan Cooley explained. “Making sure that we’re connecting on those passes and our D are jumping up in the play being more creative. When we’re doing that, we’re a tough team to stop off the rush and it allows us to break them down in zone.”
“More chances start to come off rebounds and guys in front of the net. When we continue to that, that’s when other plays open up. That’s when we start to bury our chances.”
That approach was a sharp departure from much of last season, when Utah’s power play spent too much time working the perimeter and too little time testing goaltenders. The puck movement was there, but the threat level wasn’t. This year, through two games, the results have been striking: five goals on seven power-play chances, a 71 percent clip.
Andre Tourigny likes what he’s seeing.
“They don’t hang around,” Head coach Andre Tourigny said. “They attack. They shoot.”
“The mindset is the right one right now.”
It’s early, and the Mammoth have only faced two games against inferior competition, but the process looks sturdy. The confidence is obvious, and the attack-first mentality seems much easier to trust than the passive version Utah leaned on last season.
Saturday also came with a few individual milestones. Clayton Keller picked up his 600th career NHL point with an assist on Schmaltz’s goal, while Schmaltz reached 500 points with a power-play finish of his own.
Congrats, Captain!
Kells tallies his 600th career @NHL point with an assist on the Schmaltz goal. pic.twitter.com/8Y9lWYiPTA
- Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) October 3, 2026
Congratulations, Schmaltzy‼️ pic.twitter.com/8mJmm0HFtC
- Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) October 4, 2026
There was also a strong debut in net for Sebastian Cossa, who earned a win in his first NHL start by stopping 17 of 18 shots. He wasn’t bombarded, but he didn’t need to be. He looked composed and gave Utah exactly what it needed.
“He was great,” Schmaltz said of Cossa. “He looked super calm in there.
He was definitely a calming presence. He didn’t overreact to anything.”
“He just looked steady in there. Huge congrats to him. He played a hell of a game.”
The performance gave Utah a clearer picture of its goaltending depth, with Cossa now in place as a backup the team can trust and someone who can take some pressure off Karel Vejmelka.
The Mammoth continue the trip on Sunday against the New York Rangers at 4 p.m. MDT. The game will be available on SEG+, and it will also air live on the KSL Sports Zone (97.5 FM/1280 AM).
In Other News...
Roadrunners Young Core Got A Harsh First Taste Of The AHL
The Tucson Roadrunners opened their 2026-27 season at home with a 2-0 loss to the Colorado Eagles, a reminder that the AHL can make even a young, talented roster pay for a few shaky minutes. Colorado broke the game open in the second period behind goals from Nikita Prishchepov and Jake Wise, while goaltender Ilya Nabokov turned aside 32 shots to finish off the shutout.
For Tucson, the night still carried plenty of firsts, with eight players making their AHL debuts as the organization continues to see its next wave of prospects take on bigger roles. Rookie goaltender Michael Hrabal stopped 18 of 20 shots in his first look, and the Roadrunners will now have to carry the lesson from a flat opener into the rest of a season that figures to lean heavily on youth. [Read more 🡒]