WHEN: 7:00 p.m. MT
WHERE: Delta Center - Salt Lake City, Utah
TV: SEG+, UtahHC+, Utah 16 | RADIO: KSL Sports Zone 97.5 FM, NHL App
The Utah Hockey Club (21-21-8) continues a four-game homestand tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets (25-19-7) at Delta Center. Tonight marks the first-ever meeting between the two sides, and the teams will meet again on Feb. 6 in Ohio. Utah looks to get back in the win column after earning a point in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday.
ONE-TIMERS
- Utah is seven points behind the Calgary Flames for the second wild card spot in the Western Conference.
- Mikhail Sergachev scored a goal in his first game back from injury on Wednesday night at Delta Center.
- Utah has only trailed after the first period eight times this season- the fewest in the NHL.
- Clayton Keller leads the team with 54 points (18G, 36A).
- Kevin Stenlund spent parts of four seasons with Columbus.
TONIGHT’S MATCHUP
The Blue Jackets have been one of the best stories of the NHL this season and are on the cusp of a playoff berth for the first time in five seasons. Columbus can score, and the Jackets put up the seventh most goals in the NHL at 3.27 per game. All-world Zach Werenski headlines Columbus, and his play at both ends of the ice has cemented him as a Hart Trophy and Norris Trophy candidate this season. Up front, Kirill Marchenko is having a breakout season with 53 points (20G, 33A) in 51 games.
Dean Evason’s team has won nine of 13 games since the start of 2025 despite missing several key players due to injury like Sean Monahan, Erik Gudbranson, and Yegor Chinakhov.
Last night against the Vegas Golden Knights, Columbus pulled out a 2-1 overtime victory after Cole Sillinger, who missed the previous three games due to injury, returned to the lineup to score the overtime-winner.
WHO TO WATCH
UTAH: #8 NICK SCHMALTZ - Schmaltz picked up an assist on Mikhail Sergachev’s power-play goal on Wednesday, marking the 400th career NHL point. Schmaltz now has points in nine of his last 10 games (4G, 7A) and is third on the team with 40 points (10G, 30A) this season.
COLUMBUS: #8 ZACH WERENSKI - After an assist in the Blue Jackets’ last game against the Golden Knights last night, Werenski now has points in four straight contests (1G, 3A) for Columbus. With 55 points (16G, 39A) in 51 games, Werenski is one of only two defensemen in the NHL (Quinn Hughes, Vancouver) to lead their team in scoring.
LOOK BACK
Utah fell 3-2 in overtime on Wednesday after Sidney Crosby scored his 23rd career overtime goal to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to victory. Mikhail Sergachev scored a power-play goal for Utah in the first period to give the team the lead after 20 minutes. After Pittsburgh tied things up 1-1, Michael Carcone scored on a breakaway to net his fourth goal of the year and put Utah ahead 2-1. Erik Karlsson even the score at 2-2 again in the third, and it was Crosby who provided the OT winner
POWER PLAY
Utah’s power play was a perfect 1-for-1 on Wednesday against Pittsburgh after Mikhail Sergachev lit the lamp on the man advantage in the first period. Utah now has six power-play goals in the last eight games, and the team’s 22.5% conversion rate ranks 13th in the NHL.
Clayton Keller leads the team with 21 points (5G, 16A) on the power play, and his 16 power-play helpers are tied for the 10th most in the NHL. Sergachev has three power-play goals this season which ties him for the seventh most amongst NHL defensemen.
MIKAHIL SERGACHEV
Sergachev missed five games with an upper-body injury but returned to action on Wednesday and bagged his ninth goal of the season while skating a game-high 25:57. The rearguard sees as much ice time as anybody, and only Columbus’ Zach Werenski (26:49) and Los Angeles’ Drew Doughty (25:47) spend more time on ice per game than Sergachev (25:45). Sergachev’s 31 points (9G, 22A) are tied for the 16th most amongst all NHL defensemen, and his nine goals are tied for the eighth most.
The two-time Stanley Cup Champion has reached 10 goals in a season twice with the Tampa Bay Lighting (2019-20 and 2022-23) and is currently on pace for a new career high.
LOOK AHEAD
Utah goes head-to-head with the St. Louis Blues on Sunday at Delta Center with puck drop at 5 p.m. MT. Sunday will be the third meeting of the season between the two Central Division foes with Utah winning each of the previous two engagements.
