The Edmonton Oilers are set to face the first place Utah Mammoth on Tuesday at their home arena, Rogers Place.
This is the first time these teams are meeting for the 2025-26 National Hockey League season. Judging by how things have been going, it should be a great underdog match for the Oilers to regain their confidence after their recent loss. The team is in the midst of a two-game losing streak with the Mammoth on a seven-game winning streak.
They are two teams on opposite ends of the spectrum as the Mammoth sit in first place in the Western Conference with 16 points and tied for first in the league with an 8-2-0 record. The Oilers on the other hand sit fifth in their division with 10 points and a 4-4-2 record, as well as 18th in the league.
The Oilers hope to bounce back
The 2025-26 season has been up and down for the Oilers who have been bit by the injury bug to start the year. The club has been without their top line winger, Zach Hyman due to an injury that he sustained in last year's playoff run that saw the Oilers make their second straight Stanley Cup Finals appearance. He is not expected to return until November, which has likely had an impact on the club up to this point.
The Oilers have struggled to produce offence and have been having issues between the pipes only 10 games into the season. Although it is still early, the game on Tuesday presents a wonderful opportunity for the team to turn their fortunes around. Being able to beat a team that is at the top of the league standings could be a great motivator for the Oilers.
Captain Connor McDavid spoke strongly leading up to his contract extension earlier this month about the importance of winning. Although he and fellow star Leon Draisaitl have been leading the Oilers in points, it is largely the efforts of others who have been unable to break through. Top rookies like Matt Savoie and Ike Howard have faced demotions in the lineup due to their struggles early on.
Mammoth are a wagon
On the flipside, the Mammoth will surely hope to keep their winning streak alive and not lose to what is a tirefire in comparison. They have been what many would call a 'wagon' with multiple exciting high profile young players taking massive strides this year in; J.J. Peterka, Logan Cooley, and local Edmonton product, Dylan Guenther.
Not to mention, the efforts of veterans like Nick Schmaltz and Clayton Keller leading the team with the former being a league leader in points this year. They are currently playing well above expectations heading into the season.
Keys to the game
Looking ahead to tonight's matchup, there are a number of keys to the game, should the Oilers hope to come away with a win.
The Oilers will likely put Stuart Skinner in between the pipes tonight, hoping he can put together a similar performance to his 2-0 shutout victory over the New York Rangers earlier in the season. At the very least, he will hope to be a more calming presence than he has been many times this season.
The defence will be tasked with playing to their level this year and will be asked to contain multiple high end players like the aforementioned; Keller, Schmaltz, Cooley, Guenther, and Peterka. It will be no small task and will require a full team effort from the forwards to their blueline.
Finally, the Oilers will need to start seeing contributions from their depth. It cannot be stuck solely on players like McDavid, Draisaitl, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to produce. Players like Howard and Savoie as well as defenceman Evan Bouchard should look to start to turn his season around, tonight.