{"id":588526,"date":"2026-04-07T18:19:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T18:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/588526\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T18:19:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T18:19:08","slug":"oilers-control-their-fate-in-mammoth-matchup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/588526\/","title":{"rendered":"Oilers control their fate in Mammoth matchup"},"content":{"rendered":"

Exactly two weeks ago, the Oilers visited the Utah Mammoth<\/a> fresh off a home Saturday night loss where the team didn\u2019t really have it. At that time, the Oilers were third in the Pacific Division. Vibes were low.Fast forward a fortnight, and the Oilers have gone 5-1 in that stretch, and are first in the division<\/a> via a tiebreaker. Meanwhile, the Vegas Golden Knights fired a coach and have three in a row, and the Anaheim Ducks have lost three straight and loosened their grip on the Pacific.<\/p>\n

Much has changed in 14 days. Starting Tuesday night, the Oilers control their own seeding fate.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s exciting,\u201d said veteran blueliner Mattias Ekholm<\/a>, who\u2019s been in these situations umpteen times.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe put ourselves in that position, so now it\u2019s up to us to take care of it. Yeah, we\u2019ve got some big games coming up. These teams are all fighting for their lives, especially these next three, so it\u2019s gonna be a big challenge. But I do like our game. I do think our game has been pretty solid in the last six or seven. Obviously, we didn\u2019t love our Saturday game, but you\u2019ve got to move on.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the spot still smacks of familiarity, especially because the Mammoth will surely draw into the Pacific Division playoff bracket and play the division winner in the first round.<\/p>\n

Top of mind for the Oilers? A return to those pesky, important details.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the league goes on throughout the season, it tightens up. It\u2019s harder to score goals, the details, the physicality, all that. It\u2019s mandatory,\u201d said Curtis Lazar.<\/a>\u2018Work in progress\u2019<\/p>\n

Kris Knoblauch said the story of Saturday\u2019s 5-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights was defending the rush. Four VGK goals came after quick entries into the zone, something the Oilers had done much better against in their five game winning streak.<\/p>\n

Those details had begun to slip against the Blackhawks the game before, but Edmonton was not punished for it.<\/p>\n

The Oilers homestand saw the team dominate stretches of the game offensively, but not be rewarded on the scoreboard those moments they poured chances onto the enemy. With a comprised lineup<\/a> that is now missing Zach Hyman on top of Leon Draisaitl,<\/a> converting when the pendulum is swung in their favour is crucial to banking points.<\/p>\n

The power play struggles are well documented. The Draisaitl-less man advantage is 2\/24 and hasn\u2019t scored a goal on a shot toward goal in eight games.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re missing them a lot on the power play,\u201d McDavid admitted on Monday<\/a>, saying it hasn\u2019t been nearly as effective. \u201cI still think we\u2019re getting looks. We\u2019re just not putting them in. The power play obviously has to help offensively. That\u2019s it. Be a part of it. Obviously, we\u2019re working hard at it. It\u2019s been a work in progress.\u201dIt\u2019s times like these you think of Mark Letestu<\/a>. The utility knife fourth liner used a wicked one-timer in 2016-17 to score 11 powerplay goals.The Oilers PP is most dangerous when Bouchard is throwing bombs from the blueline. A second option hasn\u2019t been established and the Oilers improved five-on-five<\/a> play can only provide so much.\u2018It\u2019s not over\u2019<\/p>\n

The young nucleus of the Utah Mammoth haven\u2019t been through these pressures yet. You can\u2019t blink down the stretch.<\/p>\n

So far, they\u2019re handling their business. Utah won all three road games on their recent western trip, scoring 19 goals in routs of Vancouver, Seattle, and Los Angeles. The Mammoth can put the puck in the net.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody\u2019s winning, so we need to win,\u201d said Utah coach Andre Tourigny after the 7-4 victory<\/a> over the Canucks on Saturday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, we want to play game 83. In order to do that, you need to win games. You\u2019re not going in because anybody let you in. You need to keep winning games and it\u2019s not over.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the Oilers power play is struggling, the Mammoth are red-hot. The man advantage has scored in five straight games, and is operating at a nine-for-17 run in that span.<\/p>\n

Clayton Keller snapped a six-game goalless drought with a hat-trick on Saturday. On a four-game point streak, Keller has produced 10 points.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s depth contributions that make lopsided boxscores. Mackenzie Weegar missed Saturday\u2019s game and is listed as day-to-day. Barrett Hayton and Jack McBain will likely be out for a while still.<\/p>\n

Liam O\u2019Brien suited up for the first time after 18 straight healthy scratches. His breakaway goal dashed any thoughts of comeback for Vancouver.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a deep lineup and anyone that steps in is a great player, and someone that knows our systems well and can contribute,\u201d Keller said. \u201cWe reacted good to a little adversity. Great effort by everyone and heck of a goal by \u2018OB\u2019 there, too. That was unreal. He\u2019s such a great teammate, great guy, and he grinds every single day so that\u2019s awesome to see too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Notes:Knoblauch wouldn\u2019t say for sure whether Colton Dach will play Tuesday, but he skated on a third-line with Jason Dickinson and Trent Frederic at practice<\/a> on Monday. Josh Samanski and Owen Michaels were the 13th and 14th forwards.Samanski suffered from a tough night on Saturday, and was a career-worst minus-three in his 20th career game.After tinkering with Nugent-Hopkins back on McDavid\u2019s wing for a period-and-a-half, Knoblauch put Roslovic in his place. Nuge looks like he\u2019ll stay separated, with the line of Podkolzin-McDavid-Savoie skated together again at practice.If Connor Ingram starts, it would be the first time he\u2019d play his former team since the October trade to Edmonton. He\u2019d also be the third different goalie to start vs the Mammoth this season.Tristan Jarry made 16 saves in the Oilers 5-2 win on March 24. With the Oilers on a back-to-back, it seems like a pick your poison spot for Knoblauch.The Oiler are 8-4-2 on the road in the calendar year of 2026.The Mammoth play five of their last six games at home. At the Delta Center, they are 19-14-3.Mikhail Sergachev has nine assists on a four-game point streak. This is his second best offensive season of his career, with 10 goals and 55 points, nine back of his career high set in 2022-23.Karel Vejmelka has struggled mightily against the Oilers in his career. He\u2019s 1-6-1 with a 4.96 goals against average and .851 save percentage. He was yanked for Vitek Vanacek two weeks ago after allowing four goals on 15 shots.The Mammoth made a big splash in trading for JJ Peterka in the off-season after a 68-point season. Utah sent Josh Doan and Michael Kesselring to the Buffalo Sabres. Doan has the same number of goals, 23, and four more points than Peterka. Buffalo\u2019s gotten the best of those returns.With the blueline comprised without Weegar, the Mammoth have recalled former sixth overall draft pick Dmitri Simashev. He\u2019s played 25 games in his rookie season, providing one assist in an average of 15:21 of ice-time.Kevin Rooney has also been called up. In one game, he\u2019s scored a goal.The Oilers are a perfect 5-0 against the Mammoth all-time, with a plus-16 goal differential.<\/p>\n

Michael Menzies is an Oilersnation columnist and co-host of PreGaming and Oilersnation After Dark. He\u2019s also been the play-by-play voice of the Bonnyville Pontiacs in the AJHL since 2019. With seven years of news experience as the Editor-at-Large of Lakeland Connect in Bonnyville, Menzies collects vinyl, books, and stomach issues. Follow him on X at Menzies_4.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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