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Oilers Game Notes 72.0: Edmonton visits Utah for potential first-round playoff preview with Mammoth
Photo credit: © Rob Gray-Imagn Images
Following a four-game homestand that started well and finished poorly, the Oilers will hit the road for a couple of games this week. First up, Edmonton heads to Utah to face a Mammoth team looking to punch its ticket to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.
Edmonton Oilers at Utah Mammoth
- Date: Tuesday, March 24, 2026
- Start Time: 7:30 PM MT
- Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
- Venue: Delta Center
- Watch: Sportsnet
1. The Utah Hockey Club wanted nothing to do with the history of the Coyotes when they took over the disaster in the desert, so the Mammoth are technically only in their second NHL season.
After missing the playoffs by seven points in their inaugural campaign, Utah is closing in on a berth this year. The Mammoth own a 37-28-6 record through 71 games, good for the top wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
2. With a few weeks left to play, Utah appears largely locked into its position. They sit 12 points back of the Minnesota Wild for third in the Central Division and five points ahead of the suddenly surging Predators, who now hold the second wild-card spot.
Assuming Nashville doesn’t run the table, the most likely scenario is the Pacific Division winner facing Utah in the first round.
3. The Mammoth are wrapping up a four-game stretch against Pacific Division opponents, with Edmonton serving as the finale.
Utah beat Vegas 4-0 on the road Thursday, returned home and lost 4-1 to Anaheim on Friday, then rebounded with a 4-3 overtime win over the Kings on Sunday after allowing a late third-period equalizer.
4. The Coyotes won their final-ever game against the Oilers at the end of the 2023-24 season, but since relocating, Edmonton has taken all three meetings with Utah.
Last season, the Oilers won their first trip to the Delta Center with a 4-3 overtime victory in November, then followed it up with a 4-1 win at home on New Year’s Eve.
This season, Utah had a seven-game October winning streak snapped in a 6-3 loss in Edmonton.
5. General manager Bill Armstrong has taken some big swings to get this group competitive quickly.
Ahead of their first season, Utah acquired defencemen Mikhail Sergachev and John Marino. Last summer, they added JJ Peterka on a five-year, $38.5 million deal.
With the team firmly in the playoff mix, Armstrong doubled down by acquiring Mackenzie Weegar from Calgary. He’s slotted alongside Sergachev on the top pairing, logging over 21 minutes per night through his first nine games.
6. Utah ranks 13th in the NHL with 223 goals scored and sixth with 198 goals against.
Their power play sits below average at 15.6 per cent, while the penalty kill is middle of the pack at 79.0 per cent.
7. Leading the way offensively is former Edmonton Oil King Dylan Guenther, who has already set a new career-high with 34 goals.
Nick Schmaltz follows with 26, while Clayton Keller and JJ Peterka each have 22. Lawson Crouse (19) and Logan Cooley (17) are also nearing the 20-goal mark.
Beyond the top six, Utah has also received depth scoring. Michael Carcone has 14 goals in a limited role, Barrett Hayton has 10 while handling defensive assignments, and former Oiler Kailer Yamamoto has chipped in 10 from the fourth line.
8. No NHL goaltender has been busier than Karel Vejmelka this season.
He leads the league with 54 starts and over 3,100 minutes played, posting a 32-18-3 record with a .899 save percentage. Backup Vitek Vanecek has struggled, going 5-10-3 with a .890 save percentage.
9. The Oilers are coming into Utah riding a two-game losing streak. After starting their four-game homestand with two wins, Edmonton lost to Florida and Tampa Bay by a combined score of 9-2.
After the loss to the Lightning on Saturday, Connor McDavid praised Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper, who coached Canada to a silver medal at this year’s Olympics in Milano-Cortina. Edmonton’s captain noted how the 2020 and 2021 Stanley Cup winners have a “great system” and that they’re “perfectly coached.”
When asked why the Oilers aren’t at that same level, McDavid said, “That’s a coaching question. You can ask Knobber that question. Obviously, we’ve been playing together a long time, and we feel like we’re somewhat rehearsed and organized, but not to their level.”
10. McDavid also said that the race for the top spot in the Pacific Division has been a pillow fight” this year.
The Ducks lead the way with 82 points, which would be good for fourth place in the Central Division, fifth place in the Metropolitan Division, and seventh place in the Atlantic Division. The Oilers hold third place in the Pacific with 77 points, which would have them 13th in the Eastern Conference.
What they said…
Oilers captain Connor McDavid on the final stretch of the regular season…
“It’s been up and down. A trying year, for sure. With that being said, we’re 71 games in and we’re still in a playoff spot, still with a chance to win the division. When you look at it that way, there are a lot of positive things.“It doesn’t really matter how we got here. It doesn’t really matter the division you play in. We’re 11 games left with a chance to get in, and not only get in, but even win our division. So, we’ll look at the positives there.”“We’ve got 11 games left to secure our spot and it starts with a couple of big ones on the road.”
Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch on facing pressure from the team’s top players…
“Any time that you’re losing or you’re not playing well, you’ll want to do things better. Coaches are no different. Coaches always want more out of the players. Players want more out of the coaches.“When things are going well, there’s usually very little criticism. When there’s losing and you’re not having the success that you anticipated, then everyone needs to look in the mirror and look how you can make the team better.”
Knoblauch on Edmonton’s goalie situation and when Tristan Jarry will get another start…
“[Jarry will start] on this road trip. We said before the game [on Saturday] that he was going to play one of the two games on the road trip, no matter if we won or lost the other night against Tampa, that Jarry would get the net. We’re just deciding on which game that’s going to be.”“With Tristan coming here, the thought was that he was going to be our starter, and there was likely going to be stretches where he plays five games in a row. Maybe there’s still a stretch where he plays five games in a row.“His first few games that he played for us, we were very optimistic. He looked great. Unfortunately, with the injury, he took a step back, and hasn’t been able to get his game to where it was before when he joined our team.“Hopefully this break has been a reset for him. He has a game on this road trip, hopefully it’s a good one, and we can continue to put him back in the net.”
Utah forward Nick Schmaltz on the Mammoth pushing to secure a playoff spot…
“It’s awesome. It’s way more fun playing these games then knowing you’re going to tee it up at the end of April or whatever it may be. Super exciting to be in this position that we put ourselves in. We have some work to do left, but we put ourselves in a good spot.”
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