PREVIEW: Blue Jackets put win streak on the line vs. Mammoth

The Blue Jackets just keep winning as they’ve passed a few major milestones on the NHL calendar. 

Columbus had victories in 11 of 12 games going into the Olympic break, and any concerns that the team’s momentum was stalled when they dropped their first two return contests vs. Boston and the New York Islanders has been assuaged by three straight victories. 

The latest, a 4-2 triumph Thursday night at Nationwide Arena over the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, moved the Blue Jackets to within a point of the Eastern Conference’s final wild card spot, as well as three points behind the Penguins and Islanders for second in the Metropolitan Division. 

The playoff push is fully on, and head coach Rick Bowness sees a team that didn’t let the two setbacks derail what the Blue Jackets have been building. 

“We knew in those games we played well enough to win, so we didn’t dwell on the loss,” Bowness said after the win over Florida. “We focused on the process. We focused on how well we were playing, so it didn’t upset us, didn’t rattle us. We just kept pushing and kept playing. You play the right way like that, you’re gonna win your share of games, and we did tonight.” 

The latest milepost on the highway that the Blue Jackets have cleared came Friday when the NHL trade deadline passed. With Columbus now having won 14 of its last 17 games (14-2-1) and drawn into a near dead heat for a postseason spot, president of hockey operations and general manager Don Waddell chose to be aggressive, trading a pair of draft picks to Vancouver for forward Conor Garland. 

A veteran of 535 games over eight NHL seasons, Garland should join the lineup tonight against Utah in Nationwide Arena. He’s posted 129 goals and 317 points in his career, including seven goals and 26 points in 50 games this year, and will add depth to the team’s forward group. 

For a locker room that a few months ago was looking at the potential of free agents-to-be Charlie Coyle, Mason Marchment, Boone Jenner and Erik Gudbranson being on the block, the fact Waddell chose to be a buyer at the deadline should be another jolt of adrenaline. The Blue Jackets believe they’re on track for a first postseason berth since 2020, and now they have an addition to help them get there. 

The season enters its final quarter with tonight’s game against the Mammoth, and the Blue Jackets have the team they believe can get them back into the postseason. 

“We’re very confident in the group in here and very confident in management, and I think we know what’s at stake right now,” Jenner said. “We’re excited for the challenge. The games are only going to get harder and we’re ready for that, so looking forward to it.”

Scratches: Danton Heinen, Mason Marchment (lower body), Jake Christiansen, Dante Fabbro (lower body) 

Injured Reserve: D Brendan Smith (knee surgery, out three to four months as of Jan. 8)     

Roster Report: The Blue Jackets added Garland in a trade Friday and he is expected to make his CBJ debut, while Werenski skated Friday and could return after missing three games. Marchment and Fabbro were also described as day-to-day by general manger Don Waddell on Friday and could return, but we'll see how the team lines up at its morning skate. 

This Day in CBJ History

March 7, 2007: David Vyborny scores a power-play goal in overtime and the Blue Jackets down Los Angeles by a 3-2 score in Nationwide Arena. Vyborny finishes with two goals and an assist, while Geoff Platt also scores.  

March 7, 2009: Rick Nash becomes the first player since Montreal’s Maurice “Rocket” Richard in 1947-48 to record an unassisted hat trick as the Jackets set a franchise record for goals in a game in an 8-2 win at Detroit. R.J. Umberger adds two goals and an assist while Jason Williams, Andrew Murray and Raffi Torres also score. 

March 7, 2013: The Blue Jackets win their third game in a row – all in an overtime or shootout – as Matt Calvert tallies 4:03 into the extra frame to give Columbus a 2-1 home win vs. Vancouver. 

March 7, 2017: Sergei Bobrovsky becomes the second CBJ goalie, joining Steve Mason, to record three straight shutouts when he stops all 33 shots in a 2-0 win vs. New Jersey at Nationwide Arena. Columbus shuts out the Devils for the second time in three days, with Oliver Bjorkstrand and Cam Atkinson scoring in the third period, as the Blue Jackets improve to 42-17-6. 

March 7, 2022: Zach Werenski becomes the franchise's all-time leader in points by a defenseman (224) with an assist vs. Toronto, surpassing Seth Jones (223). Oliver Bjorkstrand scores his 20th goal of the season in a 5-4 loss to the Maple Leafs. 

March 7, 2025: A quiet trade deadline passes for the Blue Jackets, who make just one deal, acquiring forward Luke Kunin from San Jose for a fourth-round draft pick. 

The Numbers Game

Denton Mateychuk is set to play in his 100th career game. ... Despite missing the last three games, Zach Werenski is the only NHL defenseman with at least 20 goals (20) and 60 points (65) on the season, tying for second among league blueliners in goals and placing third in points Werenski has a career-best nine-game point streak (2-11-13), and points in 22 of his last 24 games (11-24-35) as well as 33 of his last 38 (16-38-54). He leads NHL defensemen in multipoint games (21, tied for 10th overall in NHL) and is the fourth active NHL defenseman with three-plus 20-goal seasons. … Kirill Marchenko (4-7-11) has points in eight of the last nine games. ... Charlie Coyle has 10 goals and 22 points in the past 17 games as well as a 6-11-17 line in the last 11 contests, tying him for sixth in the NHL in points in that span. ... Adam Fantilli saw a four-game goal streak snapped Thursday but has posted a 5-7-12 line in the last 11 games. ... Mathieu Olivier had his third two-goal game of the season Thursday and has seven goals in the last 10 games. He is set to play in his 299th career NHL game tonight. ... Ivan Provorov tied a career high with three points (one goal, two assists) Thursday. ... Blue Jackets defensemen have scored 45 goals this season, the most in the NHL. … Columbus has scored the first goal in 24 of the last 30 contests and lead the league by scoring first in 39 of 61 games overall. ... The Blue Jackets are 5-1 in shootouts this year. ... Miles Wood and Danton Heinen are each one goal away from 100 in their NHL careers, while Marchenko is three away. ... Boone Jenner has 203 career assists, one behind David Vyborny for third most in team history. 

Know The Foe: Utah Mammoth

Head coach: André Tourigny (Fifth season)    

Team stats: Goals per game: 3.16 (14th) | Scoring defense: 2.73 (4th) | PP: 17.2 percent (25th) | PK: 78.0 percent (21st)     

The narrative: Now in their second year in Utah, the Mammoth have just one playoff appearance in the past 13 seasons dating back to their time in Arizona. After increasing their point total in each of the past three seasons, Utah is on the brink of returning to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, holding a wild card spot and a six-point lead on its closest competitors. With a strong young core, the energy around the franchise in Utah is strong given the investment by owner Ryan Smith. 

Scoring leaders: Clayton Keller has become one of the most underrated scorers in the league, averaging 84 points the past three seasons, and the U.S. gold medalist leads the Mammoth with 61 points on 19 goals and 42 assists. Nick Schmaltz is right behind with a 24-34-58 line, while 22-year-old Dylan Guenther has a team-high 28 goals among his 53 points. Mikhail Sergachev (10-32-42) was out for the last game but leads the defense, while JJ Peterka has 21 goals in his first season in Utah.   

In net: Karel Vejmelka has established himself as the Mammoth’s No. 1, leading the NHL with 48 starts and 29 wins against 16 losses and two OT setbacks along with a 2.61 GAA and .900 save percentage. Vitek Vanečěk is the backup and is 4-9-2 this season.   

What's new: The Mammoth have hit another gear since the calendar flipped to 2026, posting a 15-6-1 record and keeping teams to just 2.41 goals per game in that span and getting standout play from Keller (28 points, plus-20), Schmaltz (25 points, plus-22) and Guenther (21 points). They’ll come to Columbus on a two-game winning streak, having won the first two games of a five-game road trip at Washington and Philadelphia. Utah also was an active participant at the trade deadline, acquiring defenseman MacKenzie Weegar from Calgary.  

Trending: All three games thus far between the squads since the franchise’s move to Utah have been 3-2 overtime finals won by the road team. Columbus did the honor in the first matchup of the season Jan. 11 in Salt Lake City, with Dmitri Voronkov scoring in the extra frame on the power play. 

Former CBJ: The well-traveled Ian Cole is on his ninth team, and his second year with Utah has yielded a 2-14-16 line and plus-19 rating. Kevin Stenlund has played in 61 games this year in a bottom-six role, notching four goals among 13 points.