The Blue Jackets did to the Edmonton Oilers on Monday night at Nationwide Arena what they did to the Toronto Maple Leafs last week.
Once again, they overwhelmed a high-powered opponent with three goals in the first period, scored six goals in total and won by blowout, topping the Oilers, 6-1, in front of 15,237 who watched in the building. Elvis Merzlikins picked up the goaltending win, allowing his lone goal with 26.8 seconds left in the third period.
“Those nights of (allowing) six goals, I’ve had quite a bit of them,” Merzlikins said. “It’s not a good feeling. It’s good that we have a big change this year. I think we are really solid in the back (end), and even in the front. We know what we’re doing right now. Last year, we definitely didn’t look like we knew what we were doing when we got the puck. Here, everyone knows their own role, everyone is working hard and there (are) no jokes anymore. We’re seriously playing hockey here right now.”
Sean Monahan scored two goals to lead the way offensively, his fourth and fifth of the season, Cole Sillinger and Adam Fantilli finished with three points each on a goal and two assists, and rookie Mikael Pyyhtia scored the first goal of his NHL career in the win.
Mathieu Olivier also scored his fourth goal of the seasonn and Kirill Marchenko racked up two assists to increase his team scoring lead to 11 points (four goals, seven assists). The Oilers lost captain Connor McDavid just 37 seconds into his first shift with an unspecified leg/foot injury. This was Edmonton’s lone visit this season to Columbus, where they haven’t won since Oct. 30, 2019.
Here’s a review of game updates, in-game analysis and more.
The Jackets bounce back from a loss with yet another early statement victory over the Oilers, scoring six more goals in the process and getting the goose egg in net from Merzlikins.
Mattias Ekholm spoiled Merzlikins’ shutout bit with less than 30 seconds left in the third, causing the frustrated goalie to whack the goal post with his paddle. It was one of few negative things for the Blue Jackets during an otherwise memorable evening.
Make it six goals again for the Blue Jackets. Monahan’s second of the night, assisted by Yegor Chinakhov and Marchenko, pushes them to the six-goal plateau for the fourth time in their first eight games. That’s a crazy stat, but this is a new team in Columbus.
There it is … first goal of Mikael Pyyhtia’s NHL career. He’s waited a while, and while he’s waited the Finnish rookie has played really good hockey. This time, he gets the reward with a beautiful pass from Fantili from deep on the left wing across the low slot.
Pyyhtia tapped it home for a five-goal margin.
Neither team appears all that interested in scoring goals this period, as each team has put five shots on net with just under eight minutes left. This favors the Blue Jackets, who are running down the clock with a four-goal lead.
Tonight’s announced attendance is 15,237 here at Nationwide Arena tonight.
The puck is on the ice for the third, as the Blue Jackets try to polish off what would be another impressive early victory in their eighth game this season.
The Oilers are outshooting the Jackets 23-14 and have a 40-32 edge in attempted shots through the first two periods. Those are about the only positives for the visitors from Alberta tonight. Columbus has a commanding four-goal lead with a period left.
Edmonton is clearly missing McDavid, but the Oilers still have a lot of firepower left in the game.
A week ago, Mathieu Olivier scored two goals in the Jackets’ blowout of the Maple Leafs. He just scored for the first time in this one, pushing the Blue Jackets’ lead to a 4-0 with a hard work tally at the right post for his fourth goal of the season. Olivier scored five goals in each of the past two seasons for Columbus, but is well on his way to exceeding that number in just the eighth game of this season.
James van Riemsdyk with the lone assist.
Just like they did a week ago in a 6-2 blowout win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Blue Jackets have raced out to a three-goal lead after 20 minutes at Nationwide Arena, where the Oilers haven’t won since October 2019.
Sean Monahan, Adam Fantilli and Cole Sillingers scored the goals, Merzlikins made 11 saves without allowing a goal and three Blue Jackets already have multiple points: Zach Werenski (two assists), Adam Fantilli (goal, assist) and Cole Sillinger (goal, assist).
Edmonton will also finish this game without its captain, as Connor McDavid was injured (left leg/ankle) on his first shift of the game.
The Oilers have announced late in the first period that superstar Connor McDavid won’t return to this game due to a lower-body injury. McDavid played just one shift and 0:37 seconds.
McDavid was injured after he was tripped up by Werenski entering the Blue Jackets’ zone on the right wing.
No penalty was called for a trip, which sent the Oilers superstar center to the ice and sliding feet first into the right half wall. McDavid’s left skate appeared to strike the yellow kick plate at the bottom of the wall, causing the injury.
Is this de ja vu, all over again?
Just as they did last week against Toronto, the Blue Jackets have already prompted the “Chili!” chant at Nationwide Arena on a 3-0 lead with five-plus minutes remaining in the first period. Cole Sillinger gets credit for throwing the puck at the net front the left point. It looked like Mikael Pyyhtia might’ve got his stick on the puck to deflect it, but he quickly shook his head to let Sillinger know the goal belonged to him.
For now, it’s Sillinger’s second goal of the season and second point of the first period (goal, assist). Assists to Fantilli (goal, assist) and Werenski (two assists), who also have two points each.
Adam Fantili gets on the board with a goal, pushing the Blue Jackets’ margin to 2-0 with a snap shot from the slot off a nice feed from Cole Sillinger standing below the goal line. Columbus, as happened in the Jackets’ 6-2 rout of the Toronto Maple Leafs here last week, is outworking Edmonton early.
Sean Monahan pots his fourth goal of the season to cap a power play, giving Kirill Marchenko and Zach Werenski points with the assists.
Pretty play to set it up, Werenski from the left point over to Marchenko on the right wing for a shot/pass to Monahan for a redirection past Skinner from the slot past. That’s a bumper goal.
The puck is down here in Columbus for the Blue Jackets and Oilers, who are a couple shifts into it with a 0-0 score. Blue Jackets are getting an early power play after Viktor Arvidsson takes out Merzlikins’ pins behind the Columbus net.
Forward lines
Yegor Chinakhov — Sean Monahan — Kirill Marchenko
Mikael Pyyhtia — Adam Fantilli — Cole Sillinger
Zach Aston-Reese — Justin Danforth — Mathieu Olivier
James van Riemsdyk — Sean Kuraly — Kevin Labanc
Defense pairings
Zach Werenski — Ivan Provorov
Jake Christiansen — Damon Severson
Jack Johnson — Jordan Harris
Goalies
Elvis Merzlikins
Daniil Tarasov
Scratched: D David Jiricek
The Oilers won 3-2 on Sunday in Detroit, so they didn’t hold a morning skate at Nationwide Arena on Monday. This is the fifth time in the Blue Jackets’ first eight games they’re getting an opponent finishing a back-to-back set that started 24 hours earlier. Edmonton started goalie Calvin Pickard against the Red Wings, so the Blue Jackets are expected to face Stuart Skinner.
Columbus had multiple players option out of taking the morning skate due to illness, so the Jackets could have multiple lineup regulars missing. Injured forward Dmitri Voronkov (shoulder) participated in the skate and continues to make progress in his recovery.
John Davidson’s non-playing career began in a TV booth as a broadcast analyst for the New York Rangers, whom he’d played for as a star goalie most of his career. He also became a beloved national TV analyst before leaving the booth for a lengthy executive career with the St. Louis Blues, Rangers and Blue Jackets, with whom he’s on his second stint.
After playing a role in hiring Don Waddell in late May as the Jackets’ president of hockey operations/general manager, Davidson shifted from that role into a senior advisory position. That comes with much less day-to-day responsibility for hockey operations, which frees Davidson up to rejoin the TV booth in this game with Steve Mears, the team’s replacement for retired play-by-play broadcaster Jeff Rimer.
The Jackets’ regular broadcast analyst, Jody Shelley, is working the Prime Canada Monday Night Hockey national game between the Winnipeg Jets and Toronto Maple Leafs at Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg.
Game lines and odds from BetMGM as of Monday, Oct. 28
Here’s a look at the Blue Jackets’ schedule for October, along with start times, television, and radio information of upcoming games:
Date: Monday, Oct. 28Time: 7 p.m.Location: Nationwide Arena (Columbus, Ohio)
