The Edmonton Oilers and Utah Mammoth face off in the second game of a back-to-back, with the Mammoth taking the first game between the two Western Conference contenders. The Oilers fell behind 2-0 early and couldn’t crawl back, but their captain, Connor McDavid, still said post-game that they played well. It was also their first regulation loss in seven games.
It’s similar to the start of the season, when the Oilers dropped the first game of a home-and-home against the Vancouver Canucks and then took care of business in the second. These Oilers feel different this year, with a mindset to flip the switch when needed, and while the Mammoth are a much better team than the Canucks, it seems unlikely the Oilers would let them take two games in a row.
One thing to worry about is the Oilers' goaltending, as Tristan Jarry will be making just his third start after being the netminder when Edmonton dropped that season-opening game to Vancouver. There are some concerns in the city about Jarry, but he answered some of those doubters by stopping 19 of 20 shots against the San Jose Sharks in his second start.
It’s always good to get plus-value on talent like McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Evan Bouchard, and we’ll take those odds in this matchup.
Oilers vs Mammoth prediction: Oilers ML (+100) available at the time of publishing. Playable to this number.
