Another game is mercifully over.
If you were hoping for good news following a Columbus Blue Jackets game, well, we'll keep this short and brief. The Blue Jackets lost 5-2 to the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night from Rogers Place.
Elvis Merzlikins (25 saves on 29 shots) had a rough night in net for Columbus while Stuart Skinner (36 saves on 38 shots) occupied the Oilers' net. Joonas Korpisalo (15 saves on 15 shots) took over for the third period.
Role Reversal
Remember when the Blue Jackets blew consecutive three-goal leads, including a 3-0 lead against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday?
This time the Blue Jackets went down three goals early in the first period to the Oilers.
Jesse Puljujarvi had a three-point night, including two of the Oilers' three first period goals, as Edmonton ended their six-game losing streak Thursday night at Rogers Place. Derek Ryan and Warren Foegele also scored for the Oilers, who are 10-0 when scoring first this season.
The Oilers were 2-of-5 on the power play while the Blue Jackets were 0-for-3. Connor McDavid had two assists and Leon Drasaitl had one.
Yegor Chinakhov Returns
After the tough loss on Tuesday to the Canucks, in which the Blue Jackets saw a three-goal lead disappear in the process, it felt likely that the club would make some lineup changes ahead of Thursday's game.
Yegor Chinakhov finally re-entered the lineup for the Blue Jackets, skating alongside Gustav Nyquist and Cole Sillinger. Chinakhov played 14:15 with one shot on net and was a -1.
Alexandre Texier (18:00) was bumped up to the first line alongside Boone Jenner and Oliver Bjorkstrand.
No Shutout
Looking for some positives, Gustav Nyquist thwarted Skinner's shutout bid with a third period goal at 6:28. The goal came off the Blue Jackets' face-off win with Nyquist camped out in front of Skinner to tap it in for his fifth of the season. Cole Sillinger won the face-off and picked up the assist as did Jake Bean.
Gus pic.twitter.com/slQCejiefs #CBJ
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) December 17, 2021
Justin Danforth scored his second of the season at 16:36 of the third period to cut the lead in half briefly, but the Oilers scored their fifth goal on the Foegele empty net at 17:06. Zach Werenski picked up his 14th assist.
The Blue Jackets hit some posts on the night but this was another tough game which is the unfortunate theme for this team right now.
Back East
The Blue Jackets will battle the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Monday at 7:00 pm ET. The Blue Jackets defeated the Sabres 7-4 in Buffalo on Nov. 22. The Sabres defeated the Minnesota Wild 3-2 Thursday night in a shootout at Xcel Energy Center in Minnesota.
