© 2024 Jason Mowry

COLUMBUS, OH – Never a good time in Columbus.

Mattias Ekholm broke up Elvis Merzlikins’ shutout in the last minute on the power play, but it was another night to forget for the Oilers in Columbus, falling 6-1 to the Blue Jackets on Monday to suffer their fourth straight defeat at the home of the cannon inside Nationwide Arena.

The Oilers also lost Connor McDavid, who left the game early in the first period with a lower-body injury and didn’t return. The Oilers haven’t beaten the Blue Jackets on the road since Nov. 30, 2019, losing on their last four visits to Columbus by a 21-10 goal margin and conceding six goals on two occasions.

The Blue Jackets proceeded to score six straight goals after McDavid exited the game, with centre Sean Monahan scoring twice and Cole Sillinger (1G, 2A), Adam Fantilli (1G, 1A) and Kirill Marchenko (2A) all finishing with multi-point outings. Forward Mikael Pyhhtia also scored his first NHL goal.

Ekholm extended his point streak to three games (1G, 4A) with the late goal, while Corey Perry and Darnell Nurse got the assists. Goaltender Stuart Skinner made 19 saves on 25 shots in the defeat, which drops Edmonton’s overall record to 4-5-1.

The Oilers will have two days to determine the status of their captain and regroup before rematching the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday night.

FIRST PERIOD

A three-goal lead for Columbus through 20 minutes didn’t seem like Edmonton’s biggest concern on Monday after seeing captain Connor McDavid exit down the tunnel early in the period with a lower-body injury and not return.

McDavid hit the ice and crashed into the boards near the Columbus bench after the officials missed a tripping call against Zach Werenski on the opening shift, leading to McDavid exiting the ice and trying to shake it off on the bench before he headed down the tunnel to the Oilers dressing room.

It was already 1-0 for the Blue Jackets when it was announced later in the frame that he wouldn’t return because of a lower-body injury after Sean Monahan redirected home a power-play goal from the high slot that came as a result of Viktor Arvidsson taking the legs out from underneath Elvis Merzlikins on a forecheck.

With McDavid out for the rest of the game, the Blue Jackets took advantage and doubled their lead near the period’s midway mark when Adam Fantilli was found alone out in front by Cole Sillinger for a snap shot that beat Stuart Skinner over the right pad.

Just under four minutes later, Skinner didn’t see the puck on a spin-around shot from Sillinger near the Oilers bench that bounced on its way through, beating him five-hole with forward Mikhael Pyyhtia providing the screen in front on a the 3-0 goal. The netminder would be responsible for allowing three goals on six first-period shots from Columbus.

The Oilers had a five-on-three for 40 seconds in the final minute of the period to try and get one back before the intermission, even taking their timeout, but could only register one shot with the two-man advantage as they trailed by three after 20 minutes at Nationwide Arena.

SECOND PERIOD

On the other side of the intermission, it was Edmonton’s turn to come up with a critical penalty kill when Derek Ryan’s double-minor for high sticking early in the frame gave Columbus an extended look with the power play.

The Oilers didn’t allow a shot and even had their best chance at cutting into the Columbus lead on the five-on-four, seeing Connor Brown trying to go five-hole on a partial breakaway against Elvis Merzlikins but having his attempt turned away to keep it 3-0 with more than 15 minutes to go in the second period.

The Blue Jackets made it 4-0 on a fourth-line shift where Derek Ryan had the puck taken off him in the corner before it was chopped in front to James van Riemsdyk, who took a few whacks at it before Mathieu Olivier finished it off for his side’s fourth goal.

Outshooting the Blue Jackets 22-14 after two periods, the Oilers had five shots on net over three consecutive power plays that followed Columbus’ fourth, running a few different combinations without McDavid but failing to get a goal back on five total chances in the first 40 minutes to drop their PP efficiency this season to 3-for-28 (10.7 percent).

THIRD PERIOD

Despite a late goal from Mattias Ekholm on the power play, it would end in heavy defeat for the Oilers.

The Swedish defenceman sifted in a late PPG when Jake Christiansen cross-checked Ryan Nugent-Hopkins down in the last minute of regulation. The Blue Jackets blueliner ended up costing Merzlikins his shutout after Ekholm’s effort beat the resilient goalie under the glove with Mattias Janmark and Corey Perry providing screens.

Moments earlier on the man advantage, Corey Perry struck the post, but after the Blue Jackets struck twice over 1:24 just beyond the 15-minute mark of the final frame, it was only about salvaging something late for the Blue & Orange en route to a 6-1 victory.