The Utah Mammoth had no time to settle in before the Edmonton Oilers landed the first punch Thursday night at the Delta Center.
Just 40 seconds into the game, Connor McDavid broke through by warding off Mikhail Sergachev for the opening goal, and from there the night tilted hard in Edmonton’s favor. The Oilers rolled to a 6-2 win, a result that looked and felt a lot like Utah’s lopsided loss to the Boston Bruins not long ago.
Head coach André Tourigny didn’t hide his frustration afterward. “We knew it would be challenging,” he 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.”
The game quickly became a showcase of Utah’s defensive issues. Three of Edmonton’s next five goals came off breakaways created by breakdowns in the Mammoth structure, while another came when Kasperi Kapanen was left alone in front and buried a rebound chance. This wasn’t just a bad penalty kill night like the Bruins game; at five-on-five, Utah’s defense was loose, slow, and too easy to play against.
Karel Vejmelka was eventually lifted for Sebastian Cossa, but the loss wasn’t on the goaltending alone. Vejmelka turned aside several quality chances, including three straight point-blank looks from Colton Dach and a breakaway chance by Matheiu Joseph. Still, both goaltenders finished with save percentages below .750.
The Mammoth’s offense didn’t offer much support early, either. Utah didn’t really get going until the third period, and its power play came up empty on two chances against an Oilers penalty kill that clearly adjusted after Thursday. By then, the hole was too deep.
The blue line had a rough night across the board. Every defenseman finished minus except Sergachev and John Marino, and the Sergachev-MacKenzie Weegar pairing was in the middle of several problems, including the sequence that nearly led to the opening goal and more breakaway looks for Edmonton.
“It’s 6-2 out there, and the effort wasn't good today,” Dmitri Simashev said. “We did make a couple of mistakes.
Maybe sometimes we were unlucky, like the first three goals, but it doesn't matter. We have to fight on the ice.”
There was at least a brief spark in the third. Marino’s slapshot got Utah on the board, and then Sergachev got a strange bounce that landed behind Tristan Jarry and into the net for another. Sergachev himself looked stunned by the goal.
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Sergy 🤯 Two goals for the Mammoth to lead off the third.
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But Edmonton already had a 5-0 cushion by then, and McDavid answered with his second goal shortly after Sergachev’s weird tally to slam the door. Utah’s third period was much better than the first 40 minutes, but the damage was done long before the comeback could become anything real.
“It feels a little bit similar to the Boston game where we fell behind and then opened the game up and did it to ourselves,” Lawson Crouse said. “We can talk about learning, but we need to take those strides.
It’s a decision, and I think the third period proves that. It's a decision to go out there, play fast, play to our identity, and win battles.
I love the response. Not giving up- it seems like we never do, but we need that from the drop of the puck.”
Tourigny pointed to just how high the Mammoth’s level had been in Edmonton earlier in the week, when Utah pushed the Oilers hard in a tight game.
“In Edmonton, we played 10 out of 10 game for me,” Tourigny said. “That's as good as we have played maybe ever, and it was a tight game.
That was really tight. So you need to be ready to do it again because you knew if they lost the first game, they're coming in the second game, they will be ready.
So, back in front of our fans, that's too bad we could not work like we did in the third and compete at that level for 60.”
The timing made the loss sting even more. Utah has been grinding through a packed stretch, returning home from a five-game road trip on the East Coast, playing one home game, heading to Edmonton, and then coming right back.
The good news is the schedule lightens up a bit from here. Three of the next four are at home, and Crouse said the group has to keep the conversation honest and the blame shared.
“It’s about having open conversation, realizing there's no finger-pointing,” Crouse said. “Everyone can be better, and that's the best part about this group. Everyone's hungry to get better.”
For now, the Mammoth get a chance to reset and move on quickly. Their next test comes Monday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are 3-5-1 after a 6-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.
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