Game Day #8: McDavid, Draisaitl Make Annual Visit To Columbus To Face Under-The-Weather Blue Jackets

Fresh off their first overtime game of the season, the Columbus Blue Jackets welcome the Edmonton Oilers to Nationwide Arena on Monday night.

And while the Blue Jackets weren't able to get the win Saturday night in against the Predators, they did pick up a point in Nashville — a place that any points have been hard to come by for the Columbus franchise.

It's another sign of progress for a team that seems to be growing up before our eyes. 

That'll be tested against the Oilers though, not just because of the potency of the team that came within a game of hoisting the Stanley Cup last season, but also because several Blue Jackets have come down with an illness and will be game-time decisions, according to head coach Dean Evason. 

Here's what else to know in advance of puck-drop:

• It might sound obvious, but the way to beat the Oilers: score, score, score. The winning team in this series has needed four or more goals in 11 of the last 12 games and despite Edmonton's slow start on offense (2.33 goals per game is bottom-three in the NHL), it is a sleeping giant with the chance to awake at the drop of a hat puck.
   
• Where enough offense would come from was the biggest question surrounding this team entering the season. The Blue Jackets have answered that by scoring in 16 of the 21 regulation periods through the first seven games and scoring multiple goals in nine frames. Their 27 goals through seven games is a club record and their 3.86 goals per game is top five in the NHL.
   
• One thing we know: Elvis Merzlikins is back between the pipes for this game. Evason made the announcement Monday morning. Daniil Tarasov, after starting four consecutive games, will back him up. Merzlikins had missed a pair of games with an upper-body injury but was on the bench Tuesday and Saturday. 
   
• Given the uncertainty in the lines (this will be updated as soon we know more), here are the (very unofficial) line projections: