PREVIEW: Blue Jackets looking to get back in win column vs. Oilers

It feels like there’s a good team inside the CBJ locker room, but sometimes it seems like the Blue Jackets can’t get out of their own way.

There are long stretches when the Blue Jackets dominate the puck, putting opponents on their heels with detailed defense that quickly translates to puck possession on offense. Then there are moments when Columbus fails to sustain those stretches, losing momentum, getting stuck in its own zone and committing turnovers that lead to goals.

Add it all up and you have a team that’s at the .500 mark through 14 games, and Saturday’s 4-3 loss at Vancouver was another example of that Jekyll-and-Hyde nature. Columbus had plenty of moments of impressive play, posting big edges in shot attempts and quality scoring chances through the first two periods.

But in the eyes of head coach Dean Evason, the team’s third straight loss featured too many of the mistakes at critical times that have undone many of the Jackets’ early-season losses.

“It’s a tough one because for the most part, we played well,” Evason said. “But the goals that we gave them, three are turnovers, and (the other) one’s a crucial part of the hockey game where we allow people to get in behind us for a semi breakaway. It just, it can’t happen. We can’t continually give those type of goals away where we’re not making teams earn them as much as we should be. And consequently, we’ve lost three in a row now.”

The game was a back-and-forth affair that was never separated by more than a goal, and as Evason said, what had to be most frustrating to the Blue Jackets was the way Vancouver scored. Both the Canucks’ second and third goals came after Columbus had long stretches of the puck in the offensive zone, then had to pull the puck out of their own net after one tough shift. Then, as Evason alluded to, the winner came on a breakdown that sent sniper Brock Boeser flying into the zone with speed for a clean look on net.

So how do the Blue Jackets get better in that regard? Veteran center Charlie Coyle stressed the importance of patience and understanding game situations.

“It’s usually the team that sticks to the way they do things and wait for the other team to start cheating or try to force things and play in your favor,” Coyle said. “We probably could have done a little bit better job of that, but again we have to watch some video. A lot was going on, a lot happening, but (the game) was there for us.”

Still, Evason stressed the need to stay positive, and the Blue Jackets felt they could take some things away from Saturday’s loss and use them in an effort to finish off the road trip with results tonight in Edmonton and Tuesday in Seattle.

“We obviously know we're not gonna win every game, but if we play that that way and if we play the right way, how our team is structured and needs to play, then we're gonna give ourselves an opportunity,” defenseman Damon Severson said postgame. “We give ourselves an opportunity tonight. We just obviously didn't get the job done, so that part sucks obviously, losing three in a row now.

“Tough start to this trip, but we have another opportunity in Edmonton and a back-to-back with Seattle to get back in the win column before we head back home.”

Scratches: Cole Sillinger (illness), Miles Wood (illness), Dysin Mayo

Injured reserve/Non-Roster: Erik Gudbranson (upper body injury)

Roster Report: Greaves will be in net, while the forward lines lose Sillinger and wood to illness; Aston-Reese goes in for his 400th NHL game while Lundeström will play as well. The Blue Jackets also changed up the top two defensive pairs.

This Day in CBJ History

Nov. 10, 2010: The Blue Jackets tie a then-franchise record for goals and record the most lopsided win in club history at the time, beating the St. Louis Blues 8-1 at Nationwide Arena.

Nov. 10, 2018: Cam Atkinson scores in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Rangers, starting a franchise record-tying seven-game goal streak in which he’d tally nine times.

The Numbers Game

With a 2-1-3 line Saturday in Vancouver, Kirill Marchenko notched his 11th career multigoal game and 10th contest with at least three points. He has points in 12 of 14 games this year and an 8-8-16 line, plus a career high-tying seven-game point streak (3-6-9). His 16 points are tied for fourth in CBJ history through the first 14 games of a season. ... Dmitri Voronkov tied a career high with three points (1-2-3) Saturday. ... Blue Jackets defensemen have scored in nine of 14 games so far this year, and the team’s 11 tallies from blueliners are tied for the lead in the NHL. … Zach Werenski is tied for third in the NHL among defensemen in goals (four), tied for ninth in plus/minus (plus-9) and second in average time on ice (26:22). ... Zach Aston-Reese will play in the 400th game of his NHL career.

Know The Foe: Edmonton Oilers

Head coach: Kris Knoblauch (Third season)

Team stats: Goals per game: 2.94 (T-18th) | Scoring defense: 3.44 (T-27th) | PP: 33.3 percent (2nd) | PK: 81.8 percent (T-11th)

The narrative: Edmonton sits on a major precipice as a franchise, as they’ve made it to the Stanley Cup Final two years in a row but lost to Florida both times. After the series went seven games in 2023-24, last year’s was more decisive in favor of the Panthers, and Connor McDavid signed a two-year contract extension that indicates it’s time to win now in Edmonton. Now that he's in his 11th NHL season, anything less than contending for – and winning – the Stanley Cup will be another crushing disappointment.

Scoring leaders: You likely won’t be surprised to find out the two players atop the scoring chart for the Oilers. McDavid’s 17 assists are tied for second in the NHL and allow him to tie for sixth in the league with 22 points, and the three-time Hart Trophy winner remains the elite of the lite. Meanwhile, reigning Richard Trophy winner Leon Draisaitl is one of 16 NHLers with 10 goals on the young season and adds eight assists for 18 points. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is out tonight after posting a 5-11-16 line in the early going, and Evan Bouchard leads the defense with a 2-8-10 line.

In net: It had to be a tough offseason for Stuart Skinner, who again helped Edmonton to the Final only to become a major storyline thanks to his occasional postseason struggles. So far this year he’s 4-4-3 with a 2.81 GAA and .889 save percentage, while Calvin Pickard is 2-2-1 with a 4.00 GAA and .836 save percentage.

What's new: Edmonton is committed to its core and couldn’t make major changes this offseason, but the Oilers did add forwards Andrew Mangiapane and Jack Roslovic in free agency and traded for Hobey Baker Award winner Isaac Howard from Tampa Bay while saying goodbye to Corey Perry, Connor Brown, Jeff Skinner, Viktor Arvidsson and John Klingberg. Add in injuries to Zach Hyman, Mattias Janmark and Kasperi Kapanen and it’s all led to an uneven start, including a three-game losing streak punctuated by Saturday’s 9-1 home loss to Colorado. The Blue Jackets can expect a team that’s flying to start Monday’s game.

Trending: The two teams split the season series a year ago, with Columbus winning at home and dropping a 6-3 final in Edmonton on Dec. 5. The Blue Jackets have lost five of the last six in Oil Country and have won just nine of 34 all-time visits.

Former CBJ: After spending last season with Carolina, Roslovic signed with the Oilers after the start of the season and is making an impact, posting 3-5-8 in 14 games.