PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Mammoth

The Edmonton Oilers return to Rogers Place riding a five-game win streak as they get set to begin a home-and-away series against the Utah Mammoth on Thursday night.

You can watch the game live on Sportsnet at 7:00 PM MT or listen on the Oilers Radio Network, including 880CHED. Subscribe to Oilers+ to unlock more exclusive live and behind-the-scenes content.

PREVIEW: Oilers (5-0-1) vs. Mammoth (5-2-0)

OILERS TEAM SCOPE

The Oilers made it five straight wins with a 4-1 victory over the Kings on Tuesday, sweeping their three-game California road trip and maintaining their position as the only team in the NHL that's yet to lose in regulation at this early stage of the season.

Edmonton is outscoring its opponents 24-12 over its five-game win streak and is off to its best start (5-0-1) since the 1983-84 season, when they began a perfect 6-0-0.

Connor McDavid continues to torch the League at a rate we haven't seen before from No. 97, leading the scoring race with 17 points (4G, 13A) to mark his best output in the first six games of a season during his career after putting up a goal & three assists in his 800th NHL game in the win over Los Angeles.

The trio of McDavid (17), Bouchard (14) and Draisaitl (11) all sit in the NHL's top-10 for scoring after each recorded multiple points against the Kings. Goalie Devon Levi made a career-high 39 saves, and Vasily Podkolzin extended his best-ever point streak to six games (6G, 2A) as he continues to make the most of his chances on the first line.

Head Coach Mike Babcock continues to stress the importance of team defence and the small details in their own zone, acknowledging mistakes will continue to happen while saying he's been encouraged by what he's seen and their commitment to the process.

“It’s always easy to crack a little bit, but when you believe in who you are and what you do, you can keep doing it night after night,” Babcock said in his post-game speech against the Ducks last week. “And guys, we’re just getting started. We’re going to get a lot better, I promise you that.”

The Oilers are getting healthier, which will only add to the team's depth, with Zach Hyman having been close to being able to suit up against the Kings and his return from a lower-body injury. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins continues to make progress after skating during the team's last road trip, along with Mattias Janmark, Matt Savoie and Frederik Andersen also currently out and expected to add to their options in the coming weeks and months.

“We're going to start getting some players back, and we're going to get way deeper and way harder to play against, and that's a positive thing for us,” Babcock said.

“Life's pretty good, so let's get back to Edmonton, regroup, get a few bodies back and get playing.”

MAMMOTH TEAM SCOPE

The Mammoth are coming off a resilient 5-4 win over the Maple Leafs on Tuesday and are looking to build on early-season success that has them leading the NHL's Central Division early with a 5-2-0 start to the 2026-27 campaign.

The Mammoth have won five of their first seven games for the second consecutive season, but this year they have 10 power-play goals in their first seven, after it took them 27 games last season to reach that mark.

Leading by three goals after the second period, the Mammoth had to hold off a late surge from the Maple Leafs, who came within a goal at 5-4 with nine minutes to go in the final frame but couldn't complete the comeback against a resilient Utah team that was playing on home ice for the first time since returning from a five-game road trip.

“Our guys dug in, and they found a way, and they showed a lot of pride, so I'm proud of them for that,” Head Coach André Tourigny said. “I think there are always things you need to be aware of and manage to get better. It's important for us; even if we have success, we need to manage it the right way and learn from what we need to do better, so that we can keep being successful. The number one thing that we can’t do is mismanage our success. That will lead to failure, so we don't want to do that.” 

Nick Schmaltz leads Utah with six goals and is tied with Mikhail Sergachev and Logan Cooley for the team lead in points with nine.

Goaltender Karel Vejmelka is 4-1-0 with a 2.46 GAA and .896 SV% this season after allowing four goals on 26 shots in the win over Toronto, but he has struggled against the Oilers over his career with a 2-6-1 record, 4.97 GAA, and a .846 save percentage.

Former Edmonton Oil Kings netminder Sebastien Cossa has made two starts and will likely take the crease for one of the two meetings with the Oilers.

QUICK STATS

• The Oilers went 2-0-1 against the Mammoth last season, with Evan Bouchard (0G, 7A) and Connor McDavid (5G, 1A) pacing the offence. McDavid leads all NHL players in career goals (8) and points (13) against the Utah franchise.
•  The Oilers have never lost in regulation vs the Mammoth, going 5-0-1 and outscoring them 31-16. Edmonton is 3-0-0 all-time at home vs. Utah, outscoring them 17-5. 
• The Oilers have 21 goals & 51 points combined from McDavid, Bouchard, Draisaitl & Podkolzin. That is the most points and tied for the 2nd-most goals by 4 players through the first 6 games of a season in Oilers history. 
•  The Mammoth & Oilers each have an NHL-high 4 players with 8+ points this season.