Utah's Vanecek makes 33 saves in OT loss as Columbus' Voronkov scores game-winner

SALT LAKE CITY — Despite a subpar performance, the Mammoth were able to salvage a point after falling 3-2 in overtime against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

After carrying a power play into overtime, Columbus took advantage of the four-on-three look, with Dmitri Voronkov scoring the game-winning goal for the Blue Jackets.

Daniil But was called for the penalty with just under 30 seconds left in regulation, setting up the eventual victory for Columbus.

"We talk a lot about even when you don't have your A game, you need to find a way to get a point," Mammoth head coach Andre Tourigny said. "We got a point."

Vitek Vanecek was in goal for the Mammoth, taking on plenty of shots from the Blue Jackets. Venecek faced trouble at times but was solid overall in the crease. He made 33 saves on 36 shots and gave Utah a chance but the team couldn't take advantage of their opportunities.

"Really good," Tourigny said about his goaltender's performance. "Tough situation. Didn't play for a little bit and came in and the guys did not play their A game in front of him, and he kept us there. I think he did a great job."

The Mammoth didn't do much to help out their goalie Sunday, especially on special teams that wasn't great for Utah. The unit struggled on both the power play and penalty kill.

The Mammoth managed just one shot on goal during its first man advantage while giving up a shorthanded goal to Columbus in the second period.

Overall, the Mammoth were 0-for-2 on the power play while the Blue Jackets scored on two of their three man advantages.

"Finding wings probably," Mikhail Sergachev said on how Utah could improve on their power play. "Passing around guys, getting to the net, boxing their (defenseman) out, creating some traffic in front. I think that would be great."

Despite a less-than-stellar performance from the team, Clayton Keller continued to rack up the points for Utah, picking up two more assists against Columbus to give him seven assists over the past three games.

It was the seventh multi-assist game of the season for Keller and his 14th multi-point game, both of which lead the Mammoth.

Columbus struck first in the game, taking the lead on Mikael Pyyhtia's goal that zipped past Vanecek.

Utah tied things up on a generous puck bounce that went off of Jack McBain's upper body and into the net. Clayton Keller launched a shot near the goal, which hit McBain and found its way past Blue Jackets goaltender Jet Greaves.

The Mammoth took their first lead of the game on a rocket shot from Sergachev. The defenseman's shot came all the way from the blue line and somehow found its way to the back of the net.

A costly penalty on the Mammoth towards the end of the second period led to a Blue Jackets goal. Charlie Coyle's seventh goal of the season helped Columbus pick up their first power play goal.

After both teams were held scoreless in the third period, But's late penalty and Voronkov's overtime winner would sink Utah.

With the loss, the Mammoth's three-game winning streak was snapped but they picked up a valuable point in a game that they were clearly not at their best. Columbus' ended their four-game skid with the OT win after dropping to the bottom of the Metropolitan standings.

"I cannot arrive in front of you and complain about the team," Tourigny said. "The guys are playing hard. We played a bad game. If we play one bad game a month, you won't hear anything about it from me. I cannot arrive in front of you and pretend it did not happen. It did happen, it is what it is. We'll move on from it, but we need to let it sting a little bit."

Utah will have a day off to think about the painful loss before getting back on the ice to face the Toronto Maple Leafs late Tuesday night.

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