The six-goal plus winning streak continues. Yes, not only have the Utah Mammoth won their past four games, but they’ve won each of those games by scoring six or more goals. Tuesday’s win was a big one to add to the streak. Yes, every game nowadays is a big one, but the Mammoth’s game against the Edmonton Oilers could play a big role in who they play in the first round.
In the most critical time, the offense stepped up. Both the big names and veteran players produced big points, and the Mammoth gained a valuable two points to continue crawling towards a playoff clinch. Here are some takeaways from Tuesday’s 6-5 overtime win.
Welcome to the 30 Goal Plateau
Six goals means there were quite a few different goal scorers for the Mammoth on Tuesday. In total, five different Mammoth players scored goals against the Oilers.
JJ Peterka opened the scoring less than two minutes into the game, getting his 24th of the season. Logan Cooley scored his sixth goal in the past five games in the second period, which tied the game at three apiece. Alex Kerfoot tipped in a Sean Durzi shot, which ended up being the goal that forced overtime. The forward ended up producing two points in the game.
Kerfy ties it up and the @deltacenter goes WILD! pic.twitter.com/veqQKKZKeK
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) April 8, 2026
However, it was the forward who is in the midst of a career season who scored two of the six goals on Tuesday. Nick Schmaltz played a key role in the Mammoth’s win against the Oilers, not just offensively but defensively as well.
Schmaltz’s first goal came around halfway through the second period. A nice backhanded pass from Clayton Keller found him in the middle of the offensive zone. Schmaltz unleashed a quick shot that beat Tristan Jarry for his first goal of the game.
Schmaltz’s second goal came later in the period. With the Oilers power play struggling, Alex Kerfoot stole the puck and gave it to John Marino to spring Schmaltz on the breakaway. The forward got to the front of the net and snapped it home to tie the game up at four.
🗣️SCHMALTZY SHORTY! pic.twitter.com/1vGnhBpEkb
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) April 8, 2026
The second goal put Schmaltz at the 30-goal plateau for the first time in his career. He’s already passed his prior career high for points. Now, all he has left to chase is his 43 assists, which he produced last season.
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It’s been such a fun and amazing season for Schmaltz. Even besides his highly productive season on the ice, he’s just a couple of weeks removed from signing a long-term extension with the Mammoth. The team is also more than likely going to make the playoffs, which will allow him to play his first postseason games since the 2016-17 season. Schmaltz’s teammates couldn’t be happier that things are going well for him, especially because he’s such a big part of the locker room.
“I think the world of him,” Keller said. “Him as a player and person and just so gifted, fast, skilled, he thinks the game at such a high level, and has such a good stick. There are so many things about his game that people don’t recognize or truly appreciate as much as all of us do in this room, and just how good he is. That’s huge for him. He’s got that sneaky little wrister, and he’s good in tight. He’s got good hands. That’s great to see him get that, and I don’t think that’s the ceiling for him, honestly.”
Speaking of some of the things that Schmaltz does that many might not see, one of those things is playing a really good defensive game. He and the top two lines played a critical part in helping keep Connor McDavid to two points. Especially in overtime, stopping McDavid would be the key to winning the game. That’s exactly what the top two lines did.
“Those two lines shared McDavid all night long,” head coach André Tourigny said. “I think they did a really good job. I think that without them doing such a good job on both sides of the puck. Both of them (Schmaltz and Cooley) scored, but they played really well against 97 (McDavid), so I think they played a complete game.”
It’s hard to say if this was Schmaltz’s best game this season. He’s had two games with hat tricks and a couple of other multi-point performances throughout the 2025-26 campaign. However, this game definitely deserves to be placed among his best outings during this season. Schmaltz played excellently both offensively and defensively. If he can stay producing like this, the Mammoth will definitely have a dangerous offense in the playoffs.
O’ Captain My Captain
Are you even surprised that this game went into overtime? After the Mammoth and the Oilers traded goals throughout the game, regulation ended, and overtime came. Getting one point was good. Getting two was needed for the Mammoth, especially to hold the Oilers from getting the other one.
The Mammoth were extremely lucky with Matthew Savoie taking a tripping penalty shortly into the extra five minutes. It allowed the Mammoth to roll out their red-hot power play. The unit was quiet entering the opportunity. That wouldn’t be the case for long.
After a couple of passes right off the faceoff, the puck made its way to Keller, who flung it top shelf to score the overtime winner. It was his sixth game-winning goal for the Mammoth. Four of those, including his goal on Tuesday, have been overtime winning goals.
CAP CALLED GAME. pic.twitter.com/ZlWovuvrP2
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) April 8, 2026
The Delta Center was loud once Keller scored that goal. It’s no surprise. The arena has been one of the loudest in the NHL all season long. With everything coming down to the final couple of games of the season, it’s good to see the Mammoth fans continuing to support their team as they seek their first playoff berth.
“You get the rally towels and the whiteout, or whatever it is, and it’s pretty fun,” Schmaltz said. “(The fans) are super into it, and we want to bring a playoff series to Utah, so we’re doing everything we can.”
Going back to Keller, he’s now at 80 points in 77 games after his two points on Tuesday. While he probably won’t catch the 90 points he had last season, this season will still go down as another great one for the Mammoth’s captain. Especially with his career high six game winning goals, he probably won’t be too sad he didn’t get to 90 points again.
Are You Not Entertained?
After a game like that, there’s only one question to ask. Tourigny opened up his press conference by asking that exact question.
“Are you not entertained?” Tourigny said.
Once the game started, there ended up being four different ties throughout the game. The two teams kept one-upping each other the entire game. Yet, despite this, the Mammoth stuck with it. They stayed resilient and capitalized on their chances when they had them.
“We stuck with it all game, obviously being down 3-1, and I still feel like we were playing good hockey,” Keller said. “A couple of bounces here and there, but just part of the way that we stuck with it. We had a big push in the third. We were playing our style of hockey. We get the goal there, and then we keep pressing. We don’t sit back and back up. It’s a good step in the right direction, and still got some games left, so it’s a huge win.”
Keller is extremely right when he says the game on Tuesday was a big win. As mentioned, the results from this game might impact who wins the Pacific Division. Whoever wins the division plays the Mammoth in the playoffs. After Tuesday’s results, the Oilers and the Vegas Golden Knights are tied for first place with 88 points each. The Anaheim Ducks are right behind them with 87.
If the Oilers got two points from Tuesday’s game, it would’ve been a bigger challenge for the Knights and the Ducks to catch up. Out of the three teams battling it out to play the Mammoth in the first round, the Oilers are probably the worst matchup for the team. They match the Mammoth’s speed and are way more experienced, having reached the past two Stanley Cup Finals. Plus, there’s McDavid. That’s someone everyone should be scared to play against.
Plus, this season, it hasn’t been a great matchup for the Mammoth against the Oilers. In the other two meetings this season, the Oilers have convincingly beaten the Mammoth both times.
Yet, Tuesday was different. It was obviously a much closer game. However, there was a lot more intensity and desperation. Yes, both of these teams will make the playoffs, but seeding is still up in the air. Eventually, that’s why this game felt like a potential early preview of a playoff matchup.
“We kind of know where we stand and where they stand,” Schmaltz said. “These points are so valuable. We want to get that X by our name, as fast as we can. So we’re doing everything we can, and we’re battling every night, and two points is huge, especially against that team.”
Welcome to the playoffs. We’re pretty much already there. You can ask almost any coach who is behind the bench of a team in the hunt or in a playoff position. These games feel like playoff games. Everyone wants to get to Game 83. This is a fight to see who can get to that game.
Tuesday’s game was one of the most entertaining games for the Mammoth this season. Sure, the team probably wanted better defense and goaltending, but nevertheless, it was a big win for the Mammoth. To jump up to 88 points, especially with the Nashville Predators beating the Ducks, is huge. Getting a feel for a potential playoff opponent is huge, too, because the feeling around the team is that this won’t be the last time they see the defending Western Conference champions this season.
“You know we’re probably going to be running into them at some point, so it’s a fun matchup,” Schmaltz said.
The Mammoth will take on the Predators next on Thursday. The Predators are 37-31-10 this season and are coming off a 5-0 win over the Ducks. These two teams last met in January, where the Mammoth won 5-2. They lead the season series two games to one.
