{"id":481662,"date":"2026-01-11T07:20:50","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T12:20:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=481662"},"modified":"2026-01-11T07:20:50","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T12:20:50","slug":"nhl-predictions-columbus-blue-jackets-vs-utah-mammoth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2026\/01\/11\/nhl-predictions-columbus-blue-jackets-vs-utah-mammoth\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Predictions: January 11th, Columbus Blue Jackets vs Utah Mammoth"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome back to NHL Predictions. Each day, our writers here at Last Word On Hockey<\/i> look at the games and give in-depth analysis. Our team breaks down the key matchups, storylines, and stats, then makes predictions based on how they might play out. For this edition, we will look at the Columbus Blue Jackets<\/a> taking on the Utah Mammoth<\/a>. Don\u2019t forget to check out more NHL Predictions, as our writers continue this series throughout the 2025-26 season.<\/p>\n

NHL Predictions: <\/strong>Columbus Blue Jackets at Utah Mammoth<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Time: <\/strong>7:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time<\/p>\n

How to Watch:<\/a> Utah16; FanDuel Sports Network; ESPN+<\/h3>\n

2025-2026 Season Series: <\/strong>First Meeting of Season<\/p>\n

Location:<\/strong> Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah<\/p>\n

The Blue Jackets head to Utah for a meeting with the Mammoth.<\/p>\n

The Blue Jackets Side<\/h3>\n

After a 4-0 shutout defeat yesterday evening against the Colorado Avalanche<\/a>, the Blue Jackets come into Utah on a four-game losing skid. Columbus is also the only team in the Eastern Conference with a record below .500 (18-19-7). Despite this, defenceman Zach Werenski<\/a> continues to lead the way for the Blue Jackets. He missed five games this season, but is still producing over a point-per-game with 46 points in 40 games. Werenski’s also tied with Kirill Marchenko<\/a> for the team lead in goals with 16, which makes up the majority of the team’s goals from the blueline.<\/p>\n

Elvis Merzlikins<\/a> started against the Avalanche, so expect Jet Greaves<\/a> (12-12-6) to be between the pipes.<\/p>\n

The Mammoth Side<\/h3>\n

It would seem that the Mammoth have put their previous rough stretch behind them. Utah has won three-straight games and four out of five. In that stretch, they are allowing two goals or fewer in each victory. Currently 22-20-3, the Mammoth are just inside the Stanley Cup Playoff picture. Lawson Crouse<\/a> is having his best run of the year. Head coach Andre Tourigny moved Crouse to the top line with Clayton Keller<\/a> and Nick Schmaltz<\/a>, which has really paid off. Besides being a hitting machine, the 28-year-old has put up seven points in the last eight games and 22 overall.<\/p>\n

Utah defeated the St. Louis Blues<\/a> 4-2 in their last outing.<\/p>\n

Karel Vejmelka<\/a> (20-11-2) has bounced back from his early season struggles. He became the first goaltender to win 20 games this season. Expect him to start in this one.<\/p>\n

*Please check social media for the most updated information before locking in your daily fantasy lineups.<\/em><\/p>\n

NHL Prediction<\/h3>\n

As far as the prediction goes, one team is trending up and another has had a tough time winning games. After having a three-game win streak of their own, the Blue Jackets have lost five out of six. They\u2019re at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division and things aren\u2019t getting any better. The Mammoth are playing the exact opposite. One thing that stands out is how much better of a defensive team Utah has been. They rank 10th in goals against and third in shots on goal allowed. Columbus ranks 28th in goals against and 30th in shots allowed. We believe the Mammoth will have another strong game on defence, while getting enough scoring help.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Mammoth win 3-1<\/em><\/p>\n

Prop Bets<\/h3>\n

The Mammoth have the higher odds to win this game at -128. That will most likely be the case. The Blue Jackets just haven\u2019t played well enough as of late, while Utah has. The Mammoth are in better standing compared to Columbus as well. For any time goal scorers, look for Dmitri Voronkov<\/a> for the Blue Jackets at +310. He has 15 on the year and can really shoot the puck. As for Utah, Lawson Crouse (+300) has scored in back-to-back games and he\u2019s a strong candidate to get another one.<\/p>\n

Main Photo Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Please play responsibly, check for your local rules and age restrictions; some jurisdictions require ages 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome back to NHL Predictions. Each day, our writers here at Last Word On Hockey look at the games and give in-depth analysis. Our team breaks down the key matchups, storylines, and stats, then makes predictions based on how they might play out. For this edition, we will look at the Columbus Blue Jackets taking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5373,"featured_media":475269,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21,11,4547,4548,4524],"tags":[6083,4203,8231,528],"class_list":["post-481662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mammoth","category-bluejackets","category-hockey","category-nhl","category-nhl-predictions","tag-columbus-blue-jackets-predictions","tag-lawson-crouse","tag-utah-mammoth-predictions","tag-zach-werenski"],"modified_by":"Levi Pike, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5373"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=481662"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481662\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":481729,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481662\/revisions\/481729"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/475269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=481662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=481662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=481662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}