Keller caps comeback in OT, Mammoth defeat Oilers

SALT LAKE CITY – Clayton Keller scored a power-play goal 33 seconds into overtime, and the Utah Mammoth capped their comeback with a 6-5 victory against the Edmonton Oilers at Delta Center on Tuesday.

Keller got the feed from Mikhail Sergachev at the right dot and stickhandled the puck before ripping a snap shot off of Edmonton goalie Tristan Jarry's glove and into the net.

“We had a big push in the third,” Keller said. “We were playing our style of hockey. We get the goal there, and then we keep pressing. We don't sit back and back up. It's a good step in the right direction, and still got some games left, so it's a huge win.”

Keller also tallied an assist, Alex Kerfoot had a goal and an assist, and Nick Schmaltz scored twice for the Mammoth (41-30-6), who have won four straight games to hold on to the first wild-card spot into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. Karel Vejmelka made 21 saves.

“Really proud of the way we stayed with it,” Mammoth coach Andre Tourigny said. “The boys stayed in the present. They stayed on it. They were really resilient. Really proud of them.”

Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist, and Jarry made 25 saves for the Oilers (39-29-10), who have lost two games in a row.

Despite being tied in points with the Vegas Golden Knights, Edmonton still holds the top spot in the Pacific Division given it has two more regulation wins than Vegas.

“We had a few leads tonight and they were able to respond very quickly,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “It was a game where neither team wanted to run away with it. But yeah, it's unfortunate. It was nice to see the offense was there. We had the goals, but just too many chances against.”

JJ Peterka opened the scoring at 1:53 of the first period. Ian Cole faked a shot and instead sent a cross-ice pass to Peterka low in the right circle for the one-timer to make it 1-0 Mammoth.

Curtis Lazar scored 11 seconds later at 2:04, beating Vejmelka between the legs with his backhand off a pass from Adam Henrique to tie the game at 1-1.

McDavid scored a power-play goal at 8:56, skating across the crease and sliding the puck past Vejmelka to give the Oilers a 2-1 lead.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins pushed it to 3-1 at 14:43. He got the pass from Kasperi Kapanen on the rush, skated in and beat Vejmelka blocker side with a snap shot from the left dot.

Schmaltz scored at 10:28 of the second period, slapping a one-timer past Jarry off a pass from Keller to cut the lead to 3-2.

“We stuck with it all game,” Schmaltz said. “We had a feeling that we were (going) to come back, so great win. It was fun to be a part of. It was a great atmosphere out there.”

Logan Cooley scored at 15:19, firing a slap shot that deflected off of Edmonton defenseman Jake Walman and past the blocker of Jarry to tie the game at 3-3.

Vasily Podkolzin answered just 1:13 later, putting Edmonton back on top 4-3 at 16:06. Podkolzin took advantage of the Mammoth's defensive breakdown and found himself alone in front when he got the pass from Darnell Nurse, stretching around Vejmelka's right pad on the backhand.

“I think we obviously had a lead and weren't able to maintain it, but showed some good composure in the third to find our way to get that one point,” Nurse said. “Accumulating points each night, that's a main focus for us. So, you know, the result wasn't the one that we wanted or hoped for or pushed for there at the end. But same token, we got something out of it, and we got to make sure that tomorrow night, we don't let it slide.”

Schmaltz scored his second of the game short-handed at 19:24. He got the stretch pass from John Marino to break out into the zone and put a snap shot past Jarry.

It was his 30th goal of the season, the first time Schmaltz has hit that mark in his 11 seasons in the League.

“Schmaltz is always at his best when he has that awareness, that urgency in his game,” Tourigny said. “When he has that, as much as he wants to produce offensively, he's elite defensively just because he is at the right place. And that leads to offense for him and that leads to production.”

Colton Dach, who had missed the previous 12 games with a lower-body injury, scored at 2:09 of the third period. He gathered his own rebound and beat Vejmelka five-hole with a snap shot to give the Oilers a 5-4 lead.

“It felt good to kind of be back with the guys, and kind of be back in the locker room and obviously contribute,” Dach said. “But at the end of the day, we need to find a way to get the two points.”

Kerfoot scored at 12:56, tipping in a shot from Sean Durzi to tie the game at 5-5 and ultimately send it to overtime.

“We kind of know where we stand and where they stand,” Schmaltz said. “These points are so valuable. We want to get that 'X' by our name as fast as we can. So we're doing everything we can, and we're battling every night, and two points is huge, especially against that team.”

NOTES: Schmaltz recorded his 70th point of the season, the first time he has hit that mark in his career. … Keller scored his fourth overtime goal of 2025-26, which is tied for the second most this season behind only Cole Caufield (five). … Kerfoot’s assist was the 200th of his NHL career. … Evan Bouchard posted his 68th assist of 2025-26 and passed Paul Coffey (67 in 1982-83) for the fourth most in a season by an Oilers defenseman.