If a few puck bounces had gone the other way late in the 2025-26 National Hockey League season, the Edmonton Oilers might have won the Pacific division, and been rewarded with a Stanley Cup Playoff series against the Utah Mammoth as a result. On paper that might have looked like a better matchup, given that the Oilers held a 2-0-1 regular season advantage over the Mammoth, but the imperfect Oilers team that lost to the Anaheim Ducks likely would have had an even harder time with the Mammoth.
The Mammoth of 2026-27 look ready to take a step forward. They boast a record of 5-2-0, and already have a plus-8 goal differential in the seven games they've played. That's good enough for third in the Western Conference standings, and only a single point behind the Oilers. The season is still young, and the Mammoth may yet slip down the standings as more traditional favorites like the Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild stack up a few wins, but it's safe to say the Mammoth aren't a team you can look past on the schedule.
Strong stats
The Mammoth, led by Nick Schmaltz, Dylan Guenther, and Clayton Keller, are amongst the top teams in the league in terms of shots per game. They have directed an average of 31.3 shots on opposing netminders through their seven games, and that's surely one of the reasons that their record looks as good as it does.
On the other end of the ice, the Mammoth are suppressing shots against in an admirable fashion as well. Only the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes are allowing fewer shots on their goaltender. The impressively low 23.0 shots allowed means that the Oilers are going to have to make the most of their attempts. Given that the Oilers have been outshot by their last couple opponents, they might not be able to muster enough offense from their stars alone this time out.
The Oilers have been taking more penalties of late as well, and Utah's second rank powerplay could easily take advantage of them if they can't stay out of the box. With the Mammoth converting on 34.5% of their opportunities, any more than two fouls called on Edmonton may be too many. The Oilers' powerplay isn't yet cooking at its usual pace, but there's enough history available to say that Utah can't play dirty either, or they'll risk special teams goals against too.
This season still has its Cup favorites, and few pundits picked the Mammoth out of the gate, but the Oilers should get used to the former Arizona Coyotes club as a dangerous opponent, because there's a decent chance that a playoff battle could be in the future of these two clubs.
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