SALT LAKE CITY -- Nick Schmaltz and the Utah Hockey Hockey Club capitalized on a power play chance, taking a 1-0 lead when Schmaltz found the back of the net.
Utah HC (21-21-8, 50 points) is hosting the Blue Jackets (25-19-7, 57 points) at Delta Center on Friday, January 31. Columbus enters the night with the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Utah is fourth in the Western Conference wild-card race, seven points behind the Calgary Flames.
Tonight is the first-ever meeting between the two franchises.
Terrific stick work from Barrett Hayton dragged the puck toward the net. At the last moment, Hayton dumbed a perfect pass on the goal's doorstep that Schmaltz chipped over the left shoulder of Daniil Tarasov.
Utah has outshot Columbus 15-12 in the opening minutes. Karel Vejmelka made two spectacular glove saves during a four-minute double minor in the first period to keep the Blue Jackets scoreless.
Utah suffered a blow earlier in the day when it was announced that center Logan Cooley is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury. His 15 goals are second behind captain Clayton Keller, and his 28 assists are third. Cooley's 43 points are second behind Keller.
Cooley has been settling in during his second full season. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native was developing into one of the franchise's most exciting offensive players.
Cooley's absence puts more scoring pressure on Keller, Nick Schmaltz, and Dylan Guenther.
Utah had a chance to move up the standings with 14 games in January, including eight on home ice. Instead of making a dent in the standings, the club has lost eight of 13 before tonight. Utah has the fewest wins in the league at home with an 8-11-5 record.
Defenseman John Marino enters the night riding a three-game assist streak.
Defenseman Zach Werenski's (16 goals, 38 assists) 54 points lead the No. 7 team in the East. Rightwinger Kirill Marchenko has tallied 20 goals and 33 assists, leaving him one point behind Werenski. Marchenko has a goal in two consecutive games.
Five Blue Jackets enter the night riding points streaks, led by five points from Kent Johnson in the past four games.
Columbus is 3-3 in their last six after a six-game winning streak. The Blue Jackets have back-to-back one-goal wins, including a 2-1 OT win at Las Vegas on January 30. They are 7-14-4 on the road.
Utah Hockey Club games can be viewed on SEG+. Fans can also tune in on the KSL Sports app or 97.5 and 1280 The Zone. Click here for the full schedule.
Cole Bagley is the Utah Hockey Club insider for KSL Sports. Keep up with him on X here. Listen to Cole break down the team on KSL Sports Zone and KSL 5 TV.
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Brian Preece is a KSLSports.com insider covering Locals in MLB and the Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian's Bees and Beehive baseball here. Find Brian on X and Instagram at @bpreece24.