Utah's week was the opposite, at least until Saturday. Clayton Keller scored twice in a 4-2 win in Edmonton that handed the Oilers their first regulation loss of the season. Logan Cooley had a goal and an assist and Nick Schmaltz added 2 assists. That was 3 wins in a row. The home half of the home-and-home went badly. Connor McDavid put up 5 points, Edmonton led 5-0 before Utah scored, and Tristan Jarry made 26 saves. With no lines posted yet, the board has nothing to say on this one.
The schedule is about even. Both teams last played Saturday night, so both get 1 day off. The difference is where they spend it. Utah sleeps in its own beds after a home loss. Pittsburgh has been in Chicago, Denver and Las Vegas since Tuesday and finishes the trip at altitude after a back-to-back. Being tired doesn't decide a game by itself, but the Vegas recap blamed the Penguins' early collapse on exactly that.
Utah's injury list is short. Michael Carcone is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury and Maveric Lamoureux is on IR, but the Keller-Cooley-Schmaltz group that drove the win in Edmonton is intact. If the Mammoth play like they did in the first Oilers game, with special teams and depth carrying them, Pittsburgh's short-handed blue line has a lot to deal with. If they come out flat the way they did Saturday, Crosby has shown all month that he can make a game uncomfortable by himself.
Pittsburgh's way through this is simple: get a good start, get Murashov looking like he did in his first 2 starts again, and keep it close into the 3rd. Utah's job is also simple: don't fall asleep on a road-weary opponent at home. One of these teams has been climbing the West standings and the other is trying not to fall out of the race in October.