Have the Oilers found their groove?

Message sent. Message received.

The Edmonton Oilers’ performance in the first period of Tuesday’s game against the Utah Mammoth was nothing short of unacceptable, and it was made well known.

“We kind of needed a bit of a wake-up in between the first and second,” said Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. “Knobber coming in, talking about what we got we did in the first and just talking amongst ourselves and give ourselves a little kick in the butt and went from there.”

That kick in the butt would pay off, as despite falling to a 2-0 deficit in the first, the Oilers came out swinging for the fences, much like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. did Tuesday night, to win 6-3. The comeback started off the stick of Mattias Ekholm, blasting a slap shot top corner on Karel Vejmelka just 22 seconds into the period. Isaac Howard would add another marker three minutes later, and this game was tied.

Despite an awkward goal against where Stuart Skinner couldn’t handle a puck behind the net, nor could five other Oilers skaters make a defensive play, the Oilers kept chugging along. Leon Drasiatil would one-time a rebound home thirteen and a half minutes into the period, and just 37 seconds later, Ty Emberson would add his first of the year. Connor McDavid would cap off a little give-and-go with Nugent-Hopkins, adding an empty net goal in the third, and the rest is history.

For just the second time through their first 11 games, the Oilers scored more than three goals.

“From the coaching staff, our message was, we have to work. We can’t come and just show up and think our skill’s gonna take over and win us hockey games,” said Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch. “We turned over the puck on line rushes, we counted 16 times (in the first period).

“You’re probably looking at maybe two or three a period. Ideally, a coach’s standpoint, it’d be zero, but we turned it over 16 times on the attack, which didn’t allow us to get any offensive zone on time, didn’t allow us to pressure them. It was really easy for them.”

Edmonton’s offensive outburst was their first five goal period since April 15th, 2024, in a game where they beat the visiting San Jose Sharks 9-2. To say Tuesday’s win was big would be an understatement.

It’s not as if the Oilers beat up on a bottom-feeder, either. The Mammoth rolled into Rogers Place on a seven-game winning streak, where they outscored their opposition 32-17, averaging 4.6 goals per game and giving up just 2.4.

And for the second game in a row, the Oilers coaching staff rolled their lines. The top line of McDavid, Nugent-Hopkins and Mangiapane and the second of Drasiaitl, Jack Roslovic and Vasily Podkolzin all were pluses in terms of the underlying numbers, for a second straight game, and have the look of two groups that are starting to click. The bottom-six remains a work in progress, but Adam Henrique and Howard combining on goal, as well as Henrique helping feed Emberson for his, are good signs, too.

The Oilers schedule rolls on with more opportunities to secure wins this week with the New York Rangers coming to town Thursday night and the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night.