Matthew Knies hopes to have the same impact as in his Columbus Blue Jackets’ debut when his team hosts the Utah Mammoth on Saturday night.
Knies had two goals and an assist in the Blue Jackets’ 6-3 win over the visiting Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night in the season opener for both teams. That was after only being a member of the organization since Monday, when he was acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs in a six-player trade that sent Kirill Marchenko to the Maple Leafs.
The three points tied a franchise record for players in their first game as a Blue Jacket.
“That’s a lot of luck,” Knies said after the game. “Credit to these boys ‘cause they made me feel comfortable to do everything out there and it’s a good group in here and easy to play for.
“We’ve just got to keep taking steps forward. There’s a lot of potential in this room, a lot of skill, a lot of guys that work their tails off.”
Charlie Coyle had three assists and defenseman Zach Werenski, last season’s Norris Trophy winner, collected two assists. Cole Sillinger, Adam Fantilli, Sean Monahan and Mathieu Olivier also scored for Columbus and Jet Greaves made 23 saves.
“It’s a first game. It’s usually pretty hectic, at least with the start,” Coyle said. “The puck was bouncing a lot, so just trying to stay on the right side and doing it the right way. But when you get rewarded, you play with a little more confidence, so that was the key.”
Columbus defenseman Ivan Provorov’s 375 consecutive-game streak ended on Thursday because of a lower-body injury. He is week-to-week.
The Mammoth also won their season-opening game on Thursday, dominating the visiting Chicago Blackhawks 6-0.
Karel Vejmelka only had to stop 15 shots in his ninth career shutout and the first home shutout in franchise history.
Dylan Guenther scored twice, becoming only the fourth player in NHL history to have a goal in a franchise’s first three season openers. He joins Jared McCann (three, Seattle Kraken), George Carey (three, Hamilton Tigers) and Newsy Lalonde (three, Montreal Canadiens).
“Yeah, it’s great to see. I think everyone’s anxious to get the season going, so to start like that is a good feeling. I hope we can just take that momentum into the long roadie,” Guenther said ahead of a game which begins a five-game road trip.
Michael Carcone added a goal and an assist and Anders Lee, Nick Schmaltz and Daniil But also scored. It was the Mammoth debut for Lee, 36, who signed as a free agent during the summer after 14 seasons with the New York Islanders. Utah’s other notable offseason addition, Vincent Trocheck, 33, — who was acquired from the New York Rangers — contributed an assist. Clayton Keller had two assists.
Fourteen Mammoth skaters had at least a point, which set a franchise record.
“I think that we’re a really good team when we play well but it’s got to be consistent,” Guenther said. “We’ve shown we can play a good 60 (minutes), but there are 84 games. Just enjoy this one and then get ready for the road.”
