EDMONTON — Zach Hyman and Leon Draisaitl each had two goals and Connor McDavid notched four assists as the Edmonton Oilers stormed to a 6-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.
Mattias Ekholm and Jeff Skinner also scored for the Oilers (14-10-2), who have won four of their last five games. Draisaitl moved into a tie for the league lead with 19 goals, while McDavid became the third player in Oilers history with 10 career four-assist games, joining Wayne Gretzky (51) and Jari Kurri (10).
Kevin Lablanc, Damon Severson, Cole Sillinger replied for the Blue Jackets (11-11-3) who have lost two straight on the heels of a 6-1-1 run.
Calvin Pickard made 19 stops in net for the Oilers, while Daniil Tarasov recorded 31 saves for the Blue Jackets.
TAKEAWAYS
Blue Jackets: Defenceman Zach Werenski continues to lead the Blue Jackets in scoring. His eight-game point streak ended on Tuesday, but he picked up an assist on Columbus’ first goal to give him 17 points in his last 10 games.
The 27-year-old Michigan native is tied with Washington’s Jacob Chychrun and Colorado’s Cale Makar for the most goals among defencemen with eight and leads all NHL players with an average of just over 26 minutes of ice time per game. Werenski has 27 points in 25 games this season.
Oilers: Hyman made a big impact in his first game back after missing the last five games with an injury. A 54-goal scorer last season, he has had a slow start to this campaign with five goals.
It was his 21st multi-goal game since joining Edmonton, eclipsing Doug Weight for 13th-most in franchise history.
KEY MOMENT
Not long after McDavid had a shot at an open net tipped away by Severson, the Oilers captain made up for it.
He circled behind the net before passing in front to Draisaitl, who calmly put a backhand shot past Tarasov to give Edmonton a 2-1 lead early in the second period.
The Blue Jackets' challenged the goal for goaltender interference but it was unsuccessful.
KEY STAT
The Oilers, who improved to 6-6-1 at home, will play seven of their next eight games at Rogers Place.
Edmonton won one of its first six home games last season before going 27-4-4 at home the rest of the way.
McDAVID MILESTONE
McDavid was honoured before the game for becoming the 99th player in NHL history to record 1,000 career points.
He was presented with a Rolex watch from his teammates and a golden stick from the Oilers organization.
UP NEXT
Blue Jackets: Will visit the Vancouver Canucks on Friday.
Oilers: Will host the St. Louis Blues on Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 5, 2024.
Shane Jones, The Canadian Press