Tristan Jarry will start for the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night against the Utah Mammoth as the club opens a three-game road trip at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Colton Dach is also set to return to the lineup for a meeting with a Utah team that beat Edmonton 5-2 at the same building on Mar. 24.
The Oilers will need a cleaner night if they want to avoid a second straight setback after Saturday's 5-1 defeat to the Golden Knights ended a five-game win streak. Jarry last made 17 saves in a 3-1 win over Chicago on Apr. 2, and he turned aside 16 shots in Edmonton's last victory over Utah two weeks ago.
Utah has been in better form since then. The Mammoth enter the game having outscored opponents 19-8 during a three-game win streak and sit in the first Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. Edmonton, meanwhile, is trying to finish atop the Pacific Division over its final five regular-season games.
Kris Knoblauch said Utah is dangerous because of its pace and finishing touch, noting that the Mammoth are playing very well with 19 goals in their last three. He said their transition game begins on the back end, where quick exits have helped fuel the offense.
The Oilers are still working through the absence of Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman, and their power play has gone 1-for-19 in the nine games without Draisaitl available. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said the group has taken steps in the right direction and is playing more as a team, but he also said there is still work to do in the final five games to solidify where it stands.
He said the chances have been there most nights, but the pucks are not going in. Nugent-Hopkins added that Draisaitl changes the attack when he is available because he creates and finishes high-danger plays, though he said the group cannot get frustrated and has to keep shooting until the goals come.
Edmonton's projected lineup for oilers vs mammoth has Vasily Podkolzin with Connor McDavid and Matt Savoie on the top line, Kasperi Kapanen with Nugent-Hopkins and Jeff Roslovic on the second, and Dach between Sam Dickinson and Trent Frederic on the third. The fourth line is listed with Jack Jones, Adam Henrique and Luke Lazar, while the defense pairs are Mattias Ekholm with Evan Bouchard, Darnell Nurse with Troy Murphy and Jake Walman with Travis Emberson.
The matchup gives Edmonton another chance to measure itself against a team it handled in March, but the larger test is whether the Oilers can stabilize their special teams and scoring depth before the stretch run tightens. Tuesday's game will show whether the return of Dach and the steadier crease play from Jarry are enough to help them reset on the road.
