Mammoth take step forward against potential playoff opponent

SALT LAKE CITY — Tuesday night's game between the Mammoth and Oilers was likely a preview of a potential playoff matchup for Utah — a first- or second-round series.

The latest installment felt like a playoff game.

Fans at the Delta Center waved their white "Tusks up" towels throughout to create a postseason-like scene. And after falling 3-1, the Mammoth battled back before winning its first game against Edmonton in franchise history.

Clayton Keller was the overtime hero, once again, for Utah, scoring his second overtime winner of the season as the Mammoth finally picked up a win over the Oilers.

After struggling against Edmonton through its first five meetings, Tuesday's game seemed like it was going to be a similar installment; however, Utah never caved, even when the team had every reason to.

Karel Vejmelka struggled and gave up three goals in consecutive fashion on six first-period shots after the Mammoth opened the scoring. But a pair of goals from Nick Schmaltz helped Utah even the game up before a back-and-forth third period.

The Mammoth showed resilience throughout the game and did what they've needed to do in order to give them a chance to win in overtime.

"We just kept coming," Mammoth head coach Andre Tourigny said. "We were really resilient, patient, our game did not change. We didn't start to force plays, or tried to make complicated plays where they could cut and counter attack. We just kept going."

In the full six meetings (1-4-1) between the two teams, the Mammoth have shown little signs of being able to contain Connor McDavid and company.

The latest matchup against the Oilers featured many of the same issues that have plagued the Mammoth in previous games against the reigning Western Conference champions, but this time they were able to get a different outcome after the team has worked to correct the mistakes that have ultimately doomed them in the previous five meetings.

"They're an unbelievable hockey team," Keller said. "They're a very experienced team, and they've had our number. So I think just learning from your past mistakes and staying with it, and experiencing those challenges and just watching the video, getting better, trusting yourselves, trusting your teammates, and learning from that."

After a 4-3 overtime loss in the franchise's first meeting with Edmonton, Utah had lost by three or more goals in the four matchups prior to Tuesday's win.

The Mammoth have scored 16 goals in the six games against the Oilers while allowing 31 goals, giving Utah a -15 goal differential in the series. And McDavid has dominated in those six games, recording 13 points on seven goals and six assists.

The bad news for the Mammoth is that even if they're able to slow down McDavid, the Oilers have been unbeatable even with another former MVP in Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman out of the lineup.

Draisaitl has missed Edmonton's last two games against Utah, with Hyman missing Tuesday's tilt. Both Draisaitl and Hyman have had success against the Mammoth, with Draisaitl tallying 5 points in four games against Utah while Hyman recorded a 3-point game in a previous matchup.

Draisaitl has missed the team's last 10 games and Hyman has been ruled out for the Oilers' current three-game road trip. Both are expected back for the playoffs; and if Edmonton can get them back it'll reunite its top three goal scorers.

The Mammoth have shown improvement in different areas of its game since its previous meetings, including on the power play. After starting 0-for-8 against the Oilers on the power play, Utah has recorded a goal on the man advantage in the past two meetings, including Keller's game-winner.

Schmaltz's second goal of the night was a shorthanded attempt that helped swing the momentum in the Mammoth's favor after they tied it up.

"They're a great team," Schmaltz said. "They're a veteran group that's won a lot of playoff games, so it's fun to play against those teams. It's a good test to see where we're at and we're probably gonna be running to them at some point."

If the two teams do meet in the playoffs, Utah will need to swing the game on special teams and on the attack instead of playing defensive to give themselves a chance to win.

The Mammoth spent eight minutes in Edmonton's O-zone, which created more chances to get shots on net and allow skaters to touch the puck. Staying out of the box will only help them to stay on the attack to keep the pressure up.

"They want to be a championship team," Tourigny said. "They know there's growth together, but I never doubt their resiliency, themselves, as a team, and their belief in each other. They believe in each other. They know we're a good team and we can achieve good things together, so that there's a strong belief."

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