The St. Louis Blues’ early-season struggles continued Thursday night as they dropped a 7-4 decision to the surging Utah Mammoth at Enterprise Center, marking their second loss in three games. What started as a disastrous first period snowballed into a frustrating defeat, despite a spirited comeback attempt in the middle frame. The Mammoth, riding a franchise-record five-game winning streak, improved to 5-2-0, while the Blues slipped to 3-3-1.
First Period: Mammoth Dominate with Cooley’s Hat Trick (4-0 Utah)
The Blues were shell-shocked from the opening faceoff, allowing four goals in the opening 20 minutes – all to the visitors. Utah struck first at 3:18 when defenseman Ian Cole wristed one past Jordan Binnington, assisted by JJ Peterka and Logan Cooley. Just over two minutes later, at 6:07, Cooley buried his own rebound for a 2-0 lead, with Peterka and Dylan Guenther picking up the helpers.
The onslaught continued at 7:57, as Cooley completed a natural hat trick on a backhand tip-in, assisted by Guenther and Olli Maatta – the 20-year-old phenom becoming the first Mammoth player to notch three goals in a period this season. Utah capped the barrage on the power play at 10:55, with Cooley feeding Guenther for a one-timer that made it 4-0. Shots favored Utah 10-3, and the sparse crowd offered mild boos as the Blues trudged to the locker room.
Binnington, who faced 10 shots in the period, was pulled after allowing four goals on just nine attempts, with Joel Hofer entering cold.
Second Period: Blues Rally, But Keller Stings Late (5-2 Utah)
St. Louis showed fight in the middle stanza, clawing back two goals to cut the deficit in half. Pius Suter got the Blues on the board at 5:58 with a wrist shot off assists from Colton Parayko and Mathieu Joseph, bringing it to 4-1. Pavel Buchnevich followed suit at 7:13 on the power play, roofing a shot with helpers from Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou to make it 4-2.
The momentum shift was palpable, but Utah’s top line struck back just before the intermission. At 19:05, Clayton Keller – Utah’s captain and leading scorer – deked past a Blues defender and snapped a wrister top-shelf to restore the three-goal cushion at 5-2. The period ended with the Blues pressing but unable to solve Mammoth netminder Karel Vejmelka, who stopped 18 of 19 shots in the frame.
Third Period: Late Drama Ends in Empty-Net Heartbreaker (7-4 Final)
The Blues refused to fold, storming out of the gate with quick strikes to pull within one. An unassisted shorthanded goal from Alexey Toropchenko at 2:34 made it 5-3, followed by a power-play tally from Brayden Schenn at 6:12 (assists: Thomas and Kyrou) to knot the score? Wait, no – actually pulling to 5-4 as Utah held firm.
Utah responded with poise, as Nick Schmaltz wired a one-timer at 12:45 on a setup from Keller to push the lead to 6-4. With Binnington pulled for the extra attacker, the Blues mounted a furious siege, outshooting Utah 15-5 in the period, but Vejmelka stood tall. The dagger came at 18:52 when Keller iced it with an empty-netter from center ice, his second of the night and league-leading seventh goal of the season.
The Blues look to rebound Saturday against the Central Division-rival Dallas Stars. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. CT.
