Blue Jackets at Oilers
The Columbus Blue Jackets attempt to solidify their playoff spot in the Eastern Conference when they open a three-game trip to Western Canada on Tuesday night against red-hot Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers. The Blue Jackets saw their 10-game winning streak come to an end Saturday with a 2-1 loss to St. Louis at home and own the tiebreaker against Philadelphia for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
“We have limited opportunities to get points right now - there are 12 points left for us (to gain),” said Columbus center Mark Letestu, who was acquired from Edmonton before the trade deadline. “No one is losing around us, so it’s up to us to grab as many as we can get. I think we have been successful because we have been focused on the task at hand.” The Blue Jackets, who also play Calgary and Vancouver on the trip before hosting two of the final three games of the regular season, will face an Oilers squad that is out of playoff contention but has performed better down the stretch. Edmonton has points in four straight (3-0-1) after a 5-4 overtime loss to Anaheim on Sunday and is 7-2-2 in the past 11 with McDavid playing a big role. McDavid has scored at least once in three straight games and boasts five goals along with five assists in the last four contests to take over the league lead with 99 points.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FS Ohio (Columbus), Sportsnet West (Edmonton)
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (42-29-5): Columbus will be without captain Nick Foligno (15 goals, 33 points) for 2-to-4 weeks with a lower-body injury that was sustained in Saturday’s loss and center Alex Broadhurst was recalled. Left wing Artemi Panarin leads the team with 69 points and boasts four goals along with two assists in the past four games with a plus-5 rating in that stretch. Right wing Cam Atkinson recorded six goals in his last six games to pull within one of his fifth straight season with at least 20, and defenseman Seth Jones has five goals in his last six contests.
ABOUT THE OILERS (34-36-6): McDavid needs one point to match his career-best total from last season when he won the Art Ross and Hart Trophies, and 21-year-old is one way from reaching 40 goals for the first time in his brief career. Center Leon Draisaitl has five of his 67 points in the last four games and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who has moved from center to wing of late, has a goal and four assists in the past four contests. Goalie Cam Talbot is 4-0-1 in his last five starts, but has allowed 14 goals in that span, and needs one victory for his second straight season with 30.
OVERTIME
1. The Oilers won 7-2 at Columbus on Dec. 12 with four points from McDavid, who has nine in five career games against the Blue Jackets.
2. Columbus signed F Eric Robinson from Princeton to a two-year entry-level contract. He is expected to join the team in Edmonton.
3. Oilers D Ethan Bear, a 2015 fifth-round pick, scored his first NHL goal Sunday and has four points in 13 games since being recalled.