Connor McDavid #97 of the Edmonton Oilers skates past Mikhail Sergachev #98 of the Utah Mammoth during the first period of a game at Delta Center on October 17, 2026 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
(Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – Despite receiving their first regulation loss at the hands of the Utah Mammoth just two days ago in Edmonton, the Oilers got their revenge on Saturday night in commanding fashion.
Led by none other than Connor McDavid, who finished the evening with five points, Edmonton buried Utah early as mistakes added up and fatigue settled in.
After losing to the Mammoth 4-2 just two nights ago, it wasn’t a surprise that the Edmonton Oilers came out eagerly seeking their revenge.
Unfortunately for Utah, it took all of 40 seconds for Connor McDavid to get his team on the board and set a tone the Mammoth simply couldn’t match.
Captain Connor with the quick start 🫡 #LetsGoOilers https://t.co/jyAykdcvkU
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 18, 2026
“We knew they were going to come here and grill us because we won the last game,” Dmitri Simashev explained. “So, I think all the small details like battles, blocked shots, we could’ve done better.”
“It’s going to be a lesson for us…next time we need to be ready.”
As Simashev noted, Utah just wasn’t good enough in the small details of the game as they started slow, constantly turned the puck over and in turn, surrendered countless odd man rushes which the Oilers punished them for.
Mojo’s first in Blue & Orange 🔵🟠 #LetsGoOilers https://t.co/LIb0wrXqPF
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 18, 2026
Kappy hour ⏰ #LetsGoOilers https://t.co/ETfP177bqp
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 18, 2026
Leon rubs some more salt in it 🧂 #LetsGoOilers https://t.co/cOYMRI6HCR
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 18, 2026
“We knew it would be challenging,” Head coach Andre Tourigny said. “They will be ready on the other side. I didn’t like our compete at all in our battles. The kind of game it was in Edmonton, we knew it would be the same thing here tonight. I didn’t like the way we were in our one-on-one battles. The way we were with the dirty pucks.”
“Our physicality was not at the level, and again, I want to make sure I’m clear: when I talk about physicality, I’m not talking about body checking necessarily. I’m talking about how heavy we were in our battles; they owned the net front in our zone and in their zone, so that’s physicality for me. That’s the way to be heavy in the game. I talked about it with the team this morning; it would be a challenge for the second game in a row where we will have that level of physicality and compete. Kudos to Edmonton; they did it for two games in a row, and we didn’t.”
When you boil it down, Edmonton didn’t really have to strain themselves to win the hockey game.
Utah simply beat themselves as they served Grade A scoring chances on a silver platter to two of the best players in the world.
Do that enough times in a single game and the Oilers will absolutely bury you.
Through the first nine games of the season, Utah Mammoth goaltender Karel Vejmelka has been solid between the pipes.
Starting in four straight contests and seven of nine total, No. 70 has led Utah to five victories with a .879 save percentage and 3 GAA.
Not necessarily spectacular numbers but good enough to put his team in a position to win on a nightly basis.
But after four consecutive starts and giving up five goals on 17 shots (.706 SV%) in a 6-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers, it’s time for Sebastian Cossa to man the pipes again.
Now, to be fair to the coaching staff, I can’t blame them for going with Vejmelka twice against the Oilers.
With a 5-1 record, three straight victories, and a big win over Edmonton just 48 hours before, it made sense to stick with the more experienced hot hand.
However, all things considered, Cossa should get the start on Monday to offer Vejmelka some well-deserved rest as the Mammoth host a struggling Penguins team at the Delta Center.
As losers of three straight and six of the last seven, Monday night presents Cossa with a great opportunity to regain his confidence and prove he’s ready for more of a balanced role alongside 70.
“We knew when we looked at the schedule that week was a tough week,” Head coach Andre Tourigny said. “You play Toronto who have really good weapons. You play twice Edmonton. It was a tough situation.”
“Then we play Pittsburgh, we have Seattle. We’ll have more opportunity to split the net a little bit more. I won’t say even but to have a better flow and give a chance to Cossa to have a little bit more rhythm…it should be more regular moving forward.”
As Tourigny pointed out, it’s not going to be even 50/50 split anytime soon.
But over the course of 10 games, No. 33 should be starting in at least three, if not four of those matchups.
That’s why they traded a first-round pick to acquire him.
Not only to support Vejmelka as a more reliable backup but to help the Mammoth eventually reach contention.
Again, Vejmelka has been mostly good so far and I can’t fault the coaching staff for starting him in all three games this week.
But it’s time to give Cossa some more responsibility, and according to Tourigny, he’ll get the chance to prove himself on Monday.
The Utah Mammoth will face the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Delta Center on Monday night at 7 p.m. MT.
The game will be available on SEG+.
All Mammoth games will also be broadcast live on the KSL Sports Zone (97.5 FM/1280 AM).
Cole Bagley is the Utah Mammoth insider for KSL Sports. Follow him on X. You can hear Cole break down the team on KSL Sports Zone and KSL 5 TV.
