Blue Jackets smother Oilers as McDavid leaves game with injury

Columbus Blue Jackets players, back right, celebrate after their goal against Edmonton Oilers' Stuart Skinner (74) during the third period of an NHL hockey game Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Mikael Pyyhtia scored his first NHL goal, and the Columbus Blue Jackets whipped the Edmonton Oilers 6-1 on Monday night for their second straight home win.

Sean Monahan had two goals, Cole Sillinger added a goal and two assists, and Adam Fantilli and Mathieu Olivier also scored for Columbus, and Kirill Marchenko had two assists.

Elvis Merzlikins carried a shutout through 19:33 of the third period before giving up a late goal, but he stopped 31 shots as the Blue Jackets continued their trend of winning every other game on the season.

Mattias Ekholm scored and Stuart Skinner stopped 19 shots for the Oilers, who snapped a two-game win streak.

The Oilers lost star centre Connor McDavid to a lower-body injury 37 seconds after the opening faceoff when he collided with the boards. Despite outshooting Columbus in the first two periods, they failed to capitalize on five power-play opportunities.

After the game, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said McDavid will travel to Edmonton for evaluation. The Oilers continue their road trip on Thursday in Nashville against the Predators.

Key moment

Viktor Arvidsson came in hot behind the net and tripped Merzlikins 1:36 into the game, leading to Columbus’ first power play and Monahan's first goal. The Oilers never seemed to regain their footing and struggled to get quality looks.

Key stat

After failing to score on any of their opportunities, the Oilers power-play percentage fell to 13 per cent. Edmonton also has a league- worst penalty kill at 60 per cent.

With files from CTV News Edmonton