QUICK RECAP: Oilers 6, Mammoth 2

SALT LAKE CITY, UT – What a MAMMOTH response after a MASSIVE night from the captain.

Led by another supreme performance from Connor McDavid, the Edmonton Oilers responded in a big way from their defeat to the Utah Mammoth in the first leg of their home-and-away series on Thursday, earning a 6-2 victory at Delta Center on Saturday to stay unbeaten on the road.

After the Mammoth handed them their first regulation loss of the season at Rogers Place on Thursday, the Oilers remained 5-0-0 on the road thanks to a five-point effort  from McDavid, who recorded two goals and three assists to bring his unbelievable early-season totals to six goals & 17 assists over an eight-game point streak.

"It's crazy. He's flying," Hyman said of his captain. "It looks like he's hit another gear this year, finishing like crazy, so it's a good sign for our team."

The Oilers scored three times in the first period, starting 40 seconds in with McDavid’s first contribution on a hard drive out wide before sliding the opener past netminder Karel Vejmelka, whose night would be over midway through the second period after allowing five goals on 17 shots.

Zach Hyman marked his return to the lineup with a power-play goal before Mathieu Joseph closed out the opening frame with an unassisted breakaway finish for his first goal in Blue & Orange, and Trent Frederic stepped up in a heavyweight fight against Kevin Stenlund to show they were prepared to meet every demand.

"I just thought that we came ready to play," Head Coach Mike Babcock said. "They had just beaten us. We're in their building.  It's a Saturday night. So anytime somebody beats you, or anytime you're playing something back to back, you got to get to another level the next game. We clearly did that and got off to a great start."

Kasperi Kapanen and Leon Draisaitl added tallies midway through the middle frame to make it five unanswered goals for the Oilers before the Mammoth scored twice in the third period to break up Tristan Jarry’s shutout, with the netminder finishing with 26 saves for the victory.

Vasily Podkolzin (2A) and Leon Draisaitl (1G, 1A) both pitched in with multi-point nights, while Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm contributed helpers.

After the game, Coach Babcock & Hyman shared their thoughts on the situation unfolding in Wainwright, offering prayers and support for those affected.

"Just before we get started, obviously, Wainwright, I don't have all the details, but it's scary to say the least," Hyman said. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the people there. Obviously, there are some casualties, but we're praying for those families, and our thoughts go with them."

"I just heard the news about Wainwright," Babcock said. "First off, I just want to say everybody in this locker room is thinking about all the families and the tragedy that happened there. Our thoughts and prayers are with everybody. The entire Oilers family are with you guys, so we're all behind you."

The Oilers will be back in action on Tuesday to open a five-game homestand at Rogers Place against the Minnesota Wild.

GOALS & HIGHLIGHTS

FIRST PERIOD

19:20: EDM GOAL | Connor McDavid - Leon Draisaitl, Vasily Podkolzin

AND JUST LIKE THAT! NO. 97 MAKES IT HAPPEN EARLY! Only 40 seconds into the game, who else but Connor McDavid to open the scoring by using his feet along the boards in the neutral zone to get around the Utah defenceman before keeping his pace & sliding it past netminder Karel Vejmelka to slide it home.

Draisaitl and Podkolzin get the helpers on McDavid's fifth goal of the campaign, marking his 19th point in eight games. EDM 1, UTA 0

QUICK STAT: Tonight marked the seventh career opening-minute goal for McDavid, which ties Mark Messier for most in Oilers history.

6:39: EDM GOAL | Zach Hyman - Connor McDavid, Vasily Podkolzin

WELCOME BACK, ZACH! After the Oilers are given their first power-play opportunity with Kailer Yamamoto in the box for interfering with Colton Dach, the winger goes right back to his office in front of the blue crease and is there to tap home the rebound from Connor McDavid for his first goal of the season. EDM 2, UTA 0

QUICK STATS: McDavid is now riding an eight-game point/assist streak (5G, 15A) thanks to his first-period goal and assist, and has become the first player to reach 20 points in eight games or fewer since Mario Lemieux achieved the feat during the 1995-96 season by doing it in seven games.

Hyman sits just four points shy of 500 career points. Additionally, dating back to Dec. 10 of last year, Hyman has now notched 30 goals over his last 49 games, giving him a 0.61 goals-per-game average since that date.

6:07: EDM GOAL | Mathieu Joseph (unassisted)

NOW WE'RE UTAH-KING! Just 23 seconds later, Joseph intercepts the puck at the Oilers' blueline to create a breakaway that the winger snipes low blocker on Vejmelka to create a three-goal lead, picking up his first goal in Blue & Orange with an unassisted marker. EDM 3, UTA 0

3:40: A BIG SCRAP! Jack McBain and Trent Frederic go toe-to-toe and trade haymakers in a heavyweight tilt that fires up what was a pretty mute crowd with the Mammoth down by a trio of goals.

They needed to take something out of this period, because it's been all Edmonton up to this point.

SECOND PERIOD

9:03: EDM GOAL | Kasperi Kapanen - Connor McDavid, Evan Bouchard

BLOCKED BUT BURIED BY KASPERI! McDavid earns a painful assist by blocking a Bouch Bomb in front that bounces into the slot for Kapanen to rip bar down and make it a four-goal advantage on his third goal of the campaign. The captain gets his third point, and the second assist goes to Bouchard, who gets his 10th assist of the season. EDM 4, UTA 0

6:12: EDM GOAL | Leon Draisaitl - Connor McDavid, Mattias Ekholm

DRAI FOR FIVE! Mattias Ekholm breaks up the Mammoth's zone entry before McDavid pokes it free to a loose Draisaitl, who comes in alone on a breakaway and beats Vejmelka five-hole to end his night. Former Edmonton Oil Kings goalie Sebastian Cossa comes in to replace him, staked to a four-goal deficit. EDM 5, UTA 0

THIRD PERIOD

15:35: UTA GOAL | John Marino - Kevin Stenlund, Daniil But

Defenceman John Marino tees up a shot through traffic that finds its way into the far top corner. EDM 5, UTA 1

14:00: UTA GOAL | Mikhail Sergachev (unassisted)

What a strange goal. The puck gets chipped off Mikhail Sergachev as he pushes towards the crease by himself before it bounces up and out of the sight of Jarry, off the top of the net, and in off his back to give Utah two quick goals. EDM 5, UTA 2

9:43: EDM GOAL | Connor McDavid (unassisted)

McDAVID AGAIN! HE'S GOT FIVE POINTS AND KEEPS TORCHING THE LEAGUE!

McDavid does it all himself by stealing the puck off John Marino at the Utah blueline to earn himself a breakaway, which he easily dispatches past Cossa with a backhand for his second goal & fifth point of the evening.

He's up to six goals and 17 assists in eight games this season. EDM 6, UTA 2

OILERS LINEUP

Podkolzin - McDavid - Draisaitl
Kapanen - Dach - Hyman
Formenton - Michaels - Joseph
Hallander - Frederic - Howard 

Ekholm - Bouchard
Shea - Murphy
Walman - Emberson

Jarry
Levi

POST-GAME INTERVIEWS

Hyman on the result & getting back in the lineup from injury against Utah:

"I think we played well. We lost at home, and when you play back-to-back against a great team like Utah, you can go in their building on Saturday night, put on a strong performance, battle back, and win, I think it's a good sign.  It was great to be able to join the guys and kind of get back into things. It's never fun being out."

Hyman on conditioning & converting from his net-front role on the power play:

"I think I've played enough there. That's just a habit. You can pick it up pretty quickly.  The other parts of the game, you've got to get your feet under you and get your conditioning back and all the fun stuff that happens when you miss three weeks, but that net-front stuff stays with you. So it was nice to get one. For whatever reason, I find it hard to score the first one every year, so it was nice to get one out of the way early."