Oilers 6, Mammoth 2: McDavid's Five-Point Answer in Salt Lake

October 17, 2026 - Salt Lake City - Forty seconds in, Connor McDavid was already through the left circle. Backhand around Karel Vejmelka's left pad. Delta Center had come to finish a home-and-home Utah had won 4-2 on Thursday. Edmonton had other ideas before the first shift was over.

The Edmonton Oilers beat the Utah Mammoth 6-2. Edmonton is 6-1-1, 5-0-0 on the road, a franchise-best start away from home, the NHL recap said. Utah is 6-3-0 after three straight wins. Shots were 28-23 Edmonton. Zach Hyman, Mathieu Joseph, Tristan Jarry, Sebastian Cossa, Daniil But, Kevin Stenlund, Dmitri Simashev, and Nate Schmidt are not seeded on AthX player pages, so those names stay unlinked.

McDavid had two goals and three assists. The NHL recap put him at 23 points (six goals, 17 assists) through eight games, tied Mario Lemieux (1995-96) and Wayne Gretzky (1986-87) for the most assists through a player's first eight games of a season, and called him the second-fastest to 20 points after Lemieux in seven games in 1995-96. Leon Draisaitl had a goal and an assist. Vasily Podkolzin had two assists. Jarry stopped 26 of 28. John Marino and Mikhail Sergachev scored for Utah. Vejmelka stopped 12 of 17 before Cossa replaced him late in the second. Cossa stopped 3 of 4.

3-0 before the first intermission

McDavid's opener at 0:40 was a breakaway from Draisaitl. Cut wide, across the slot, backhand. The NHL recap called it his seventh opening-minute goal, tying Mark Messier for the Oilers franchise mark.

Hyman scored his first of the season at 13:21 on the power play. McDavid's centering pass bounced off Sergachev. Hyman jammed it past Vejmelka's right pad. He told NHL.com the first one is always hard, and it was good to be back after missing six games. Thirty-two seconds later Joseph scored on a breakaway after Simashev misplayed a puck off a face-off in Edmonton's zone. Glove side. 3-0.

Mike Babcock told NHL.com Edmonton came ready to play in a building that had just beaten them. Andre Tourigny said he did not like Utah's compete in the battles, and that the physicality was not at the level after he had talked about it that morning.

Five-hole, then two that did not finish the night

Kasperi Kapanen made it 4-0 at 10:57 of the second. Evan Bouchard from the point. McDavid a touch. Kapanen from the slot, high corner, crossbar and in. Draisaitl made it 5-0 at 13:48, five-hole on a breakaway McDavid started after a Schmidt giveaway. Vejmelka sat. Cossa came in.

Marino got Utah on the board at 4:25 of the third, a slap from above the right circle through a screen. Sergachev scored at 6:00. The NHL recap said the shot hit the top of the net, bounced off Jarry's back, and in. 5-2. Lawson Crouse told NHL.com it felt like the Boston game, falling behind and opening it up, and that the third period proved they can play fast when they decide to.

McDavid closed it at 10:17, another breakaway after he poked the puck off Marino in the neutral zone. Babcock, on NHL.com: you cannot coach a team when your best player is not driving, and this guy is driving.

Edmonton hosts Minnesota on Tuesday. Utah hosts Pittsburgh on Monday.

AthX Engine on a 17.20 captain night

AthX Engine (our projection and scoring system) scored McDavid at 17.20 (two goals, three assists, two shots, a block). Draisaitl is 7.10. Sergachev is 6.40. Podkolzin is 5.50. Joseph, Kapanen, and Marino are 5.20. Hyman is 4.60 with the power-play bonus and two penalty minutes. Jarry's win, 26 saves, and two goals against land at 11.00. Vejmelka is -1.20 on five goals against.

Edmonton's team line is 23.20. Utah's 2-6 is 0.00 at the floor.

Fantasy points measure the box. Price is what traders will pay for an eight-game McDavid heater, and for a Mammoth group that beat this club on Thursday and could not get a first-period shot to matter on Saturday. They are not the same number.

Track McDavid, Draisaitl, Sergachev, and both clubs on the marketplace.

*Sources: AP recap (ESPN), ESPN box score, NHL.com recap, NHL.com scoreboard, ESPN NHL scoreboard. AthX Engine fantasy points scored from NHL gamecenter box 2026020133. Information only; not financial advice.*