The Blue Jackets are in Salt Lake City today, with a scheduled matchup against the Utah Mammoth tonight. They will try to salvage a win out of a road trip that has been nothing short of awful.
The Jackets lost 4-0 in Colorado yesterday afternoon, a deserved outcome. They were never in that game, and honestly came out of it pretty lucky that the score wasn't worse.
Jackets lose 4-0, about what we would have expected.
— Union and Blue (@UnionAndBlue) January 10, 2026
The issue I have is that this team has not shown any fight for 3 games and 2 periods.
Sorry to say it, but they have checked out for the season. #CBJ
Hopefully they can muster up some energy and give us a reason to be positive tonight. They have not looked good since blowing a big lead at home against the Pittsburgh Penguins last Sunday.
The Opponent
The newly minted Mammoth have won three straight games, most recently on Friday night, when they beat the St Louis Blues at home. They are currently in game #3 of a 7-game homestand.
This is a much better team than they were in their years as the Arizona Coyotes. Up front, they have some good, young talent; including leading Scorer Clayton Keller, who will be a part of Team USA for the upcoming Winter Olympics.
He has 13 goals and 41 points in 45 games this season. Right on his tail is Nick Schmaltz, with 16 goals and 40 points; then Dylan Guenther with 37 points (team-leading 21 goals).
In goal, they surprisingly feature the league's winningest backstop. Karel Vejmelka has 20 wins in 34 starts, posting a 2.63 goals against average, .900% save percentage, and 1 shutout.
The Mammoth are 22-20-3 (47 points), just one point out of the second wild card spot in the Western Conference. Notably, they have only played 19 out of 45 games so far at home, where their record (11-7-1) is much better than on the road (11-13-2).
Arguably their best young player (Logan Cooley) is currently on IR, along with veteran depth pivot Alex Kerfoot. Still, they have a pretty good roster, that will surely give the Jackets all they can handle tonight.
The Good Guys
Where to begin?
The Jackets have lost four games in a row since beating the Buffalo Sabres 5-1 last Saturday afternoon. And, aside from the first period of the very next game, they have not even looked remotely good.
They blew a 4-1 lead to the Pittsburgh Penguins last Sunday, losing in overtime. Since then, they have gone 0-3 with a 14-5 goal differential.
They were awful again yesterday in Colorado, regardless what they said in their post game interviews. We've seen enough of the excuses, or the positive outlook on what they did right.
It's time to dig a hell of a lot deeper and find a way to win a hockey game. If they drop this one tonight, there's a decent possibility that they will be facing major changes before their next game. This season is quickly slipping away, and they don't look like they care at the moment.
That's the kind of stuff that costs your head coach his job. At the moment, they are closer to having the highest lottery odds of picking first overall, than they are a wild card spot.
There is enough talent and leadership here to at least go out and compete on a nightly basis. They have to figure it out.
Tonight, they will have Jet Greaves in goal. We'll likely have to wait until game time to see if there are any other changes to the lineup.
Three Keys to Success
I only have one key tonight, because I think this team has too many issues to list them all out. Here goes:
1. Play for pride. Look, they are in a tough spot right now. But, it starts with one game. Go out and play because this is the NHL and you're tired of being dumped on. Do it for each other.
Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:00 Eastern time tonight. Let's go Jackets.