^{Jack McBain’s fists and Nick Schmaltz’ 2 goals sends the Blues away in tears Friday night.}

The St. Louis Blues visited the Delta Center for the first time this season, and in 2026, to face the Utah Mammoth. While this is the third game of their 4 game series, there isn’t much in common with either previous game; the Mammoth’s first game against them was during their fantastic start, and the second game was during their massive slump. Utah’s again on the upswing, winning 3 of 4 to start 2026 while the Blues just watched Olympic level human turd Jordan Binnington get lit up for 7 goals against.

Before the recap, though, a special děkuju to a friend for a special gift before the game. Thank you!

FIRST PERIOD:
The last time these two teams met, Logan Cooley took a cheap knee on knee hit from Alexey Toropchenko. While the hit didn’t take Cooley out on LTIR until the following game, and another dirty play by another now divisional opponent, it certainly was a major factor in his absence.

So, the best way to handle a major factor in an injury is a major penalty for fighting. And, before the puck had even had a chance to get cold, Jack McBain and Toropchenko locked up. McBain delivered a solid and massive beating, clearly winning the fight, and laying down retribution for his LTIR comrade.

With formalities out of the way, the game officially started and the ice was tilted in favor of the Blues nearly all period long. The first minute saw a pair of shots come from Jimmy Snuggerud, both expertly turned aside by Karel Vejmelka, who was tested early and often in the first period. By the time the first stoppage post-fight occurred, Vejmelka had already saved three shots against. The close of the second minute saw a chance develop for the Blues, when the puck ended up in no-man’s land – Vejmelka was caught between playing it and holding back, but the Blues were too deep in the zone to effectively put the puck on net, and a centering pass ended up clearing the zone and ending danger on that shift.

The danger for Utah only ramped up from here, though, as just 2 and a half minutes into the game, the Mammoth would be shorthanded for the first time. Alex Kerfoot was called for a slash on Jonathan Berggren, giving the Blues a man advantage early on.

The Blues power play has been terrible lately, so it was fitting that the first Mammoth chance would come short-handed. Kevin Stenlund took a 2 on 2 play up the ice with Lawson Crouse, but his pass ultimately was too far for the streaking winger to catch for a shot attempt. Great defensive plays by John Marino and Nick Schmaltz kept St. Louis pressure away from Vejmelka, and the PK didn’t allow a shot, going 1 for 1 on the kill.

Utah had a chance when Colton Parayko tripped over his own net, but a Clayton Keller shot missed. Shortly thereafter, Snuggerud got in tight on Vejmelka again, but like earlier in the period, he was denied from in close keeping the game scoreless. Bookending this, Nick Schmaltz got the first official Utah shot on net when he danced in the St. Louis slot, putting a backhander in on Joel Hofer, but was ultimately denied.

Dylan Guenther had a golden opportunity on his stick, when a misplayed puck by Hofer saw center Barrett Hayton toss the puck backwards towards the slot. With Hofer out of position, #11 was unable to get position to get the puck and the shot and St. Louis’ netminder barely escaped a disaster of his own making.

The Blues kept pressure on the Mammoth, however, and with 11 minutes left to go, Vejmelka was forced to make a good kick-save to keep the Blues off the board. Shortly after, at the halfway mark of the period, Vejmelka was tested in tight again, as Pavel Buchnevich attempted a tip in close, just missing wide and Brayden Schenn took a deflected puck on net from about 3 feet away from the crease. However, as he had done through the chaotic first half of the period, Vejmelka swallowed up the puck and forced a whistle.

Nick Schmaltz had a strong counterattack, coming in 2 on 1 with Keller, but his shot ended up off Hofer and out of harm’s way. Jake Neighbours had a chance with a Jordan Kyrou drop pass 10 feet outside of the crease, but Vejmelka was able to scoop the puck, and prevent a rebound keeping the scoresheet blank. With 9 minutes to go and with that shot, Utah was being outshot 10-3.

The next few minutes saw little offensive action from either side – Utah had been hemorrhaging shots and zone time to the Blues through this point, so a neutral balance in the game was a win for them at this point in time. The Mammoth would get their first real dangerous attempts of the game with 6 minutes to go, though. A Hayton feed to a streaking Guenther in the slot didn’t quite connect, and the rebound popped out in front for Ian Cole, but his attempt was ultimately swatted away by Hofer.

With just under 5 to go, Utah would break the ice. Coming off a defensive zone draw due to icing, the Mammoth won the faceoff, and drove down the ice. Schmaltz fed Keller, who streaked up the left wing and into the Blues zone. Keller’s shot was low on Hofer’s pads, forcing a rebound – that rebound went right to the middle of the slot, and right where Nick Schmaltz was skating. Schmaltz banged home the rebound for the good guys. 1-0 Utah

The Mammoth withstood some Blues pressure following the goal, but neither side really generated much solid offense for several minutes. Schmaltz and Lawson Crouse nearly doubled the lead on a 3 on 2 rush; Schmaltz had the puck alone in the slot, and fed over to Crouse for the wide-open net, but the pass missed and the chance faded.

With under a minute to go, Vejmelka was under siege by a relentless Blues attack. Kyrou had a pair of attempts from less than 10 feet away from the crease, both denied. Neighbours tipped a puck wide, then Kyrou again had a wraparound attempt stopped. The horn sounded, giving relief to Team Tusk, as the Blues threw 8 shots and attempts at the Utah net in the final 60 seconds, but all to no avail.

Utah trailing 13-6 in shots after the first.

SECOND PERIOD:
The second period saw the teams trade zone time for the first 2 minutes with no offensive opportunities, until Michael Carcone threw a shot at Hofer that was saved, and McBain jumped on a rebound but was ultimately denied as well.

Neither team was able to get any clean shots or attempts off for several minutes; Utah had a chance with a JJ Peterka feed to Barrett Hayton in the slot that bounced off a Blues defender and on net. The next shot came nearly 4 minutes after the last ones, with Snuggerud challenging Vejmelka again unsuccessfully.

Then, we had some spicy time. Brandon Tanev, in his third straight game, got whistled for an illegal hit to the head. Brayden Schenn came to his teammate’s rescue, dropping gloves on Tanev. The fight was not nearly as impressive or destructive as the first one, but the two fighting majors, plus a roughing and illegal hit minors, took Schenn and Tanev off the board for 7 minutes at minimum.

Normal play resumed with both penalties cancelling out. Marino took the puck in the defensive end, and fed Keller on the far boards for a zone entry. Spotting Crouse on the near side, Keller delivered a perfect pass to the Sherriff, who rifled a shot in that area goalies dread – under glove, over pad. Despite only having 9 total shots and being out zone-timed and out played, Utah’s doubled the lead. 2-0 Utah

And before I sit from “woo!”-ing the announcement it’s 2-1 Utah. Nathan Walker cut off a Utah clearing attempt at the wall, feeding Oskar Sundqvist at the far dot who beat Vejmelka above blocker. 10 seconds the difference between the goals. So much for momentum…

The flurry of goals there was a mirage, though, as there were no real scoring chances over the next several minutes – Utah stifled the Blues chances with blocks and disrupted passes, while also stifling themselves with missed passes and failed zone entries against the Blues defense. The best Utah chance came from a fantastic individual effort by Peterka, who skated from his own goal line through three Blues defenders, giving himself a 2 on 1 chance with Hayton. Peterka’s pass, though, hit Hayton in the skates and the center was unable to find or shoot the puck as play continued through to a board battle.

It took 4 minutes for either team to register a shot on goal, but it was an important shot. After an icing forced a defensive zone draw for the Blues, a faceoff win by Schmaltz kept Utah on the attack. Schmaltz received the puck in the slot, but shot wide. He ended up controlling the puck again, but instead of shooting this time, he spied a wide open Sean Durzi on the far side of Hofer with a wide-open cage in front of him. Getting Blues defenders to commit to defending a second shot, his pass hit Durzi’s stick dead center, and the wrister from Durzi had no where to go but the back of the net. 2 goal lead restored, hopefully for more than 10 seconds this time. 3-1 Utah.

The Mammoth did not allow the Blues to get a follow up push this time, but in fact had one of their own. Shortly after the goal, the third line saw a shot by McBain deflect in and off Daniil But, but the puck was tracked by Hofer and it was covered before getting into a more dangerous spot.

The Mammoth got a power play towards the latter half of the period, when Keller took a cross check from Robert Thomas into the Blues net. Tyler Tucker and Crouse got into extra curricular activities, also sending them to the box. The power play, however, was unsuccessful, even with great puck movement in the latter half of the power play.

With under 5 minutes to play, the Mammoth found themselves in a lot of trouble. Kevin Stenlund broke his stick on the face-off in the Utah zone. For more than a minute and 30 seconds, Utah was hemmed in, facing shot after shot. For more than a minute and 30 seconds, Stenlund decided that it was too important to stay in the zone ineffectively, instead of skating to the bench for a change/new stick. For more than a minute and 30 seconds, none of the 4th liners (+Dylan Guenther filling in for Alex Kerfoot) could touch the puck, even for an icing. Finally, after more than a minute and 30 seconds, a delayed penalty brought a 6th attacker onto the ice – effectively a 6 on 4 – allowing the Blues to get within 1. 3-2 Utah.

Shortly after the goal and delayed penalty that allowed a 6 on 5, yet another penalty got called against Utah. This time, Nick DeSimone got called for holding, putting the Mammoth on the penalty kill just a minute after the lead was cut to one. The Mammoth PK, however, was fantastic early on, culminating with a steal and rush up the ice by Schmaltz. Drawing a penalty of his own, the PK ended early and the teams would go 4 on 4.

The Mammoth would pressure the Blues to end the period, with a few shot attempts but nothing major developed before the horn. Utah goes to the room up 3-2 with one final frame to go.

Shots in the period – 9-6 favoring Utah, but St. Louis has a 19-15 edge on shots after two.

THIRD PERIOD:
The period opened with a brief power play for the Mammoth, but there was not really any time to get any momentum. A terrifying moment, though, when Thomas went over a falling Crouse. Thomas went face first into the ice, unable to brace himself. He was down for several minutes, but thankfully was able to leave under his own power. Thomas was able to return later in the game, fortunately not injured severely.

Following Thomas’ departure, Utah took control of the game for the next few minutes, with a few shots on goal between Schmaltz, Keller, Carcone, and Hayton, but nothing beat Hofer. Guenther, however, would change that positive momentum with a terrible interference penalty. With a puck headed towards Vejmelka, a perhaps tired Guenther just tied up Schenn. The PK, however, stood tall up against the St. Louis power play, keeping them to just one shot and no dangerous chances to speak of.

Schenn would go to the box for high-sticking Keller, as Blues fans cried foul over the fact that Keller reacted to his helmet being hit and not his face. Fun fact – no one cares about your feelings.

The Mammoth’s third and final power play would finally break through after a flurry of opportunities. Keller had a great look that was blocked, Peterka tried to roof it past Hofer, but hit him high instead, and eventually a pitch and catch between Peterka and Keller saw the German thread a pass to a waiting Schmaltz in the slot. Schmaltz buried it past Hofer, restoring the 2 goal lead and giving him his second goal of the night 4-2 Utah

Utah didn’t allow an immediate counter, but in fact had some offensive push which was disrupted by a goalie injury stoppage. After, however, Utah was on their heels for much of the rest of the period, as a desperate Blues team threw everything they had to claw back into the game.

One of the more dangerous chances saw Toropchenko shoot on a 2 on 1, but he missed the net wide. Even scarier for Utah, Buchnevich hit the post with under 8 minutes to play – but thankfully the puck angled out. Peterka had a shot in on Hofer going 1v5, which was saved with just over 5 minutes to go.

The Mammoth had a delayed penalty called on Guenther with 4 and a half to play. With the extra attacker, the Blues had a wide-open net showing from a cross-ice pass from Thomas to Sundqvist. Sundqvist was absolutely robbed by a sprawling and fully stretched out Vejmelka, who got his pad on the shot, denying the goal.

Massive blocks on the penalty kill kept pucks from reaching Vejmelka. When they did reach, like two did with 3 and a half minutes to go, Vejmelka was able to get a big blocker out, or was in ideal positioning to make the big saves.

3 minutes to go, Hofer went to the bench for the extra attacker. 6 on 4 saw a pair of chances – a clearing attempt/shot just missed, and then a 2 on 2 breakout saw Crouse feed Stenlund. Stenny’s shot from the blue line shattered a stick and just barely trickled wide. McBain had an attempt roll, curve, and ultimately end up just inches wide. The Blues managed 2 shots at the end of the game, neither high danger, and the horn sounded with Utah grabbing 2 huge regulation points.

Utah ends the game outshot 28-23.

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3 GOALS (THE GOOD):

Keeping time Karel Vejmelka’s not a timekeeper, he’s a goal keeper. This, today, actually wasn’t that different. His goal keeping bought time for Utah to stabilize their play and get right in the head. With 13 saves in the first period, where Utah was utterly dominated for the first 10-12 minutes, keeping the game close was extremely important against a Blues team that seems to need 3 goals to win a game.

Shot quality for the Blues wasn’t always great, but when it was, Veggie was able to cover. In a critical third period, with the Blues running 6 on 5 from a delayed penalty, he committed a felony in his save against Sundqvist. He also backstopped a perfect 4 for 4 penalty kill, giving Utah a critical edge in the special teams department. Two first goals in my write ups in a row? Probably has something to do with his Olympic nod.

6,7? 8,9! The top line was magnificent today. All props to Vejmelka for keeping the team ahead in the first period, but let’s give flowers to Nick Schmaltz and Clayton Keller for their 6 points tonight. Apparently, this also put the pair as the most prolific scoring American duo in NHL history. Pretty cool.

I wrote about Keller owning his hometown team, but Schmaltz has been almost identically as lethal. With more games played than Keller, Schmaltz has comparable numbers. Keller’s a Blues killer, and Schmaltz is the guy to hide the body.

Crouse, +3 as well, added a goal and an assist. Combined, the line accounted for 3 goals, 5 assists, and +9 on the night. No matter how you meme it, those numbers all look good.

Dueling Banjos I have a lot of things I liked tonight, but the sneaky good thing that is in my top of mind is the overall play on dots. After struggling with faceoffs, the Mammoth clamped down and won important face offs repeatedly.

Durzi’s goal was a result of a faceoff win, and subsequent pressure. The power play goal doesn’t happen without the win from Schmaltz. Penalty kills are easier when you’re forcing your opponent 200 feet.

It’s one of those overlooked stats in a game that newcomers and even some more serious fans consider, but it’s a huge advantage if you’re able to get the right face off wins in the right spots. Utah seemed to do that when it was most important, and wow, look at who won.

3 CHIRPS (THE BAD):

Opening Night Jitters The first period ended with Utah having a 1-0 lead. Why is this bad? Well, the outcome was great, but the methodology was less than ideal. Being outshot more than 2-1, with an expected goals against (xGA) of 2.4 means that the only reason the first period ended without a deficit was goaltending. The play was disjointed, the passes sloppy, and the energy was lacking.

Vejmelka was 3rd star of the night, however there’s about 12 guys that need to chip in to get him a steak dinner or two for this win now that they’re awake enough to realize the game didn’t start at 7:30 like Wednesday’s game.

1586 Potentially devastating news for the Mammoth as Alex Kerfoot logged just 2 minutes of ice time before leaving and not returning with an upper body injury. Kerfoot missed significant time this season already, and any additional time – especially during critical stretches right now – would be terrible for the Mammoth.

Kerfoot is “just” a 4th liner, but his play allows so many other pieces to fit on this team. Veteran presence for the kids at a forward position. PK stabilizing force. Able to slot in at center if and as needed. Great shot blocker. Even though he’s “just” 4th line, Kerfoot’s an extremely valuable piece of the puzzle for the Mammoth. Hoping the news with him is good, but considering the surgery he had and recovery time needed this year, it’s concerning for sure.

Take 5 Perhaps with Kerfoot’s injury there was too much pressure on Guenther to cover two lines, but Guenther had one of the worst nights I’ve seen him play tonight. A very lazy and preventable interference penalty could have cost the Mammoth the lead early in the 3rd. Turnovers in the third period when St. Louis was pushing could have given them life when Utah could least afford to allow that. Another bad penalty, late in the third, gave another chance to the Blues to cut their 2 goal deficit into something scary.

It’s one game, and Guenther’s been our best player for weeks at a time, which makes me sad to have to write this for him. However, I don’t expect to see this much more from him – so let’s make it a one and done, shall we?

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Next up:

Game 3 of 7 at home against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Early game time, 5PM on a Sunday.

If you take Trax, note that Sunday schedules are different and you will likely be waiting extra time in the cold, so be prepared.