SALT LAKE CITY – Despite a poor overall performance against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday night, the Utah Mammoth still managed to secure a critical point in overtime.
With some heroics from Vitek Vanecek between the pipes and a few lucky bounces, Utah remained undefeated amidst their longest home stand of the season.
Here are the key takeaways from Utah’s 3-2 OT loss.
Vitek Vanecek gave Utah a chance to win with one of his best performances of the season
Despite suffering his 10th straight loss in net for the Utah Mammoth this season, backup goaltender Vitek Vanecek was actually really good against the Columbus Blue Jackets as he gave his team a chance to win.
Sure, allowing three goals and an OT winner is not ideal, but with 33 saves on 36 shots (.917 save percentage), Vanecek did everything he could to keep pucks out of the net while the defense more or less left him out to dry.
“He was amazing,” Defenseman Mikhail Sergachev said of his netminder. “He held the ground for us. We gave up a little too much as I said and he was big for us tonight. We just couldn’t get it done for him.”
Like Sergachev explained, the defense didn’t do enough to help out No. 41 tonight.
They struggled to clear their own zone, made some errand passes, turned the puck over and lost some key battles at the net.
Meanwhile, Vanecek made a season-high 33 stops and bailed the Mammoth out on a few defensive breakdowns that kept the game close.
“[He] was really good,” Head coach Andre Tourigny said. “Tough situation, didn’t play for a little bit, came in, and the guys did not play their ‘A’ game in front of him, [but] he kept us there and did a great job.”
For a backup goaltender whose had a tough season in terms of his record between the pipes (2-9-1) and save percentage (.879 percent), it can be easy to point fingers in that direction in an OT loss.
Tonight was not the case as Vanecek was one of the primary reasons Utah even managed a point.
A late penalty doomed Utah’s chances in overtime
Again, it’s tough to blame one individual for the loss as the team collectively struggled, but that doesn’t erase the fact that Daniil But’s late penalty with less than 30 seconds left in regulation had severe consequences.
Like I said, I’m not putting all the blame on But whatsoever, but that infraction doomed Utah’s chances of walking away with more than a point as they were forced to defend a 4-on-3 in overtime.
“It is hard [to defend 4-on-3 in OT], but it’s easier than 5-on-3…Pucks were flying around; high sticks everywhere; we just didn’t get to set up in our formation and didn’t get to defend that well. (Columbus) attacked right away–good on them,” Sergachev explained.
As fast as the game already is in OT, adding an extra attacker puts the opposition at a major disadvantage, especially after losing the initial faceoff.
Upon forfeiting possession with an inability to clear their own zone as the Blue Jackets continuously rotated their forwards, it was only a matter of time before they scored.
As soon as Utah let their guard down and just seconds after Ian Cole turned his head on the right side, Dmitri Voronkov slipped in behind No. 28 on his way to the net and tipped a puck right past Vanecek to call game.
VORO CALLED GAME💥
CBJ x @FanaticsBook pic.twitter.com/M3CXoebRUD
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) January 12, 2026
So, while some may disagree with the call, or at least the nature of it as the refs overlooked a questionable trip on Sean Durzi moments before, it was still the right decision by the officials but a tough break for the Mammoth.
The loss needs to ‘sting’ but the Mammoth should feel lucky to have stolen a point
After losing to the last team in the Eastern Conference in a game where their goaltender stopped more than 91 percent of the shots he faced, the Mammoth should absolutely be disappointed with their efforts.
However, at the same time, Utah didn’t really deserve to be in that game anyway so managing a point is still very much a silver lining.
“First of all, you need to sting a little bit,” Tourigny said. “It’s not just about moving on. It’s about learning from it. I think there’s a lesson to learn from that game.”
“Like I said, it’s not a matter of execution or effort. It was a matter of mindset, be ready to play the game the way it should have been played, and our decision with the puck. There are many things that were not on par.”
As Tourigny outlined, the Mammoth were just off their game tonight against Columbus.
Not only were they outshot 36-27, but they just seemed to lag throughout all three zones as they consistently lost battles, turned the puck over in dangerous areas and committed costly penalties.
Not exactly the kind of effort that’s going to win many games.
But as I noted, getting a single point out of those kinds of games can be huge.
Teams are not always going to bring their ‘A’ game and a point can sometimes be the difference between making the playoffs or not.
“It’s great we got a point thanks to Vanecek,” Tourigny said. “We need to, not be happy, but acknowledge the point. It’s a big point.”
“We talk a lot about even when you don’t have your ‘A’ game, you need find a way to get a point. We got a point.”
So, while two is always better, a point in overtime is better than zero in regulation, especially at a critical point in the season where every team is doing musical chairs in the standings.
As Tourigny went on, he shared that while a point is important, they cannot be pleased with that kind of an effort which was echoed by Jack McBain.
“We got a point out of (tonight). It wasn’t our best game, but we’ll learn from it and move on. We have to learn…to win, how to close out games. Not our best, but we’re on to the next one,” McBain said.
Ultimately, that’s the right mindset to have after games like this.
A point is positive, but they need to make sure that type of performance doesn’t happen again as two is always better.
What’s next for the Utah Mammoth?
The Utah Mammoth will continue their seven-game home stand against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. MT.
The game will be available on Hulu & ESPN+.
All Mammoth games will also be broadcast live on the KSL Sports Zone (97.5 FM/1280 AM).
Cole Bagley is the Utah Mammoth insider for KSL Sports. Keep up with him on X here. You can hear Cole break down the team on KSL Sports Zone and KSL 5 TV.
Take us with you, wherever you go.
