\u2014 Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) April 8, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n 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<\/a> played a key role in the Mammoth\u2019s win against the Oilers, not just offensively but defensively as well.<\/p>\n Schmaltz\u2019s first goal came around halfway through the second period. A nice backhanded pass from Clayton Keller<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n Schmaltz\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udde3\ufe0fSCHMALTZY SHORTY! pic.twitter.com\/1vGnhBpEkb<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) April 8, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n The second goal put Schmaltz at the 30-goal plateau for the first time in his career. He\u2019s already passed his prior career high for points. Now, all he has left to chase is his 43 assists, which he produced last season.<\/p>\n Related: Mammoth\u2019s Michael Hrabal Ready for Pro Career After Closing Chapter at UMass<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s been such a fun and amazing season for Schmaltz. Even besides his highly productive season on the ice, he\u2019s just a couple of weeks removed from signing a long-term extension with the Mammoth<\/a>. 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\u2019s teammates couldn\u2019t be happier that things are going well for him, especially because he\u2019s such a big part of the locker room.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the world of him,\u201d Keller said. \u201cHim 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\u2019t recognize or truly appreciate as much as all of us do in this room, and just how good he is. That\u2019s huge for him. He\u2019s got that sneaky little wrister, and he\u2019s good in tight. He\u2019s got good hands. That\u2019s great to see him get that, and I don\u2019t think that\u2019s the ceiling for him, honestly.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019s exactly what the top two lines did.<\/p>\n \u201cThose two lines shared McDavid all night long,\u201d head coach Andr\u00e9 Tourigny said. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to say if this was Schmaltz\u2019s best game this season. He\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n O\u2019 Captain My Captain<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019t be the case for long.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n CAP CALLED GAME. pic.twitter.com\/ZlWovuvrP2<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) April 8, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n The Delta Center was loud once Keller scored that goal. It\u2019s 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\u2019s good to see the Mammoth fans continuing to support their team as they seek their first playoff berth.<\/p>\n \u201cYou get the rally towels and the whiteout, or whatever it is, and it\u2019s pretty fun,\u201d Schmaltz said. \u201c(The fans) are super into it, and we want to bring a playoff series to Utah, so we\u2019re doing everything we can.\u201d<\/p>\n Going back to Keller, he\u2019s now at 80 points in 77 games after his two points on Tuesday. While he probably won\u2019t catch the 90 points he had last season, this season will still go down as another great one for the Mammoth\u2019s captain. Especially with his career high six game winning goals, he probably won\u2019t be too sad he didn\u2019t get to 90 points again.<\/p>\n Are You Not Entertained?<\/p>\n After a game like that, there\u2019s only one question to ask. Tourigny opened up his press conference by asking that exact question.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you not entertained?\u201d Tourigny said.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cWe stuck with it all game, obviously being down 3-1, and I still feel like we were playing good hockey,\u201d Keller said. \u201cA 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\u2019t sit back and back up. It\u2019s a good step in the right direction, and still got some games left, so it\u2019s a huge win.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n If the Oilers got two points from Tuesday\u2019s game, it would\u2019ve 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\u2019s speed and are way more experienced, having reached the past two Stanley Cup Finals<\/a>. Plus, there\u2019s McDavid. That\u2019s someone everyone should be scared to play against.<\/p>\n Plus, this season, it hasn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s why this game felt like a potential early preview of a playoff matchup.<\/p>\n \u201cWe kind of know where we stand and where they stand,\u201d Schmaltz said. \u201cThese points are so valuable. We want to get that X by our name, as fast as we can. So we\u2019re doing everything we can, and we\u2019re battling every night, and two points is huge, especially against that team.\u201d<\/p>\n Welcome to the playoffs. We\u2019re 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.<\/p>\n Tuesday\u2019s 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\u2019t be the last time they see the defending Western Conference champions this season.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know we\u2019re probably going to be running into them at some point, so it\u2019s a fun matchup,\u201d Schmaltz said.<\/p>\n 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<\/a>. These two teams last met in January, where the Mammoth won 5-2. They lead the season series two games to one.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a>![\"Clayton](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Clayton-Keller-Mammoth-2-1200x800.jpg\")
Utah Mammoth right wing Clayton Keller reacts after scoring the game winning goal against the Edmonton Oilers during overtime (Rob Gray-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n![\"SUBSCRIBE](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Mammoth_Banner-1200x122.jpg\")
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