Blue Jackets at Oilers preview

BLUE JACKETS (32-21-15) at OILERS (36-24-8)
10 p.m. ET; NHLN, CBC, SN, SN360, SN1, CITY, FS-O, NHL.TV

Edmonton is two points behind the Vegas Golden Knights in the division and one ahead of the third-place Calgary Flames.
Oilers defenseman Oscar Klefbom will return after missing the past nine games with a shoulder injury.
Mikko Koskinen will start in net for Edmonton.
Columbus is tied with the New York Islanders for the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
The Blue Jackets are 2-5-6 in their past 13 games after going 9-0-1 in the previous 10. They are playing the second of a three-game Western Canada road trip that started with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Calgary Flames on Wednesday.
Joonas Korpisalo will start in net for Columbus.

Players to watch

Blue Jackets center Pierre-Luc Dubois has four points (one goal, three assists) in his past five games.
Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has nine points (three goals, six assists) during a four-game point streak.

They said it

"Those points that we are getting have been huge, but we also have to start getting wins and that's what we're going to try and do tonight."-- Blue Jackets defenseman Markus Nutivaara on their six overtime or shootout losses in the past 12 games
"It feels like it's been two months. It was boring not being on the ice and helping the guys and playing. I'm excited for tonight's game, and hopefully I can go out there and help the guys." -- Oilers defenseman Oscar Klefbom on returning to the lineup

Blue Jackets projected lineup

Alexander Wennberg -- Pierre-Luc Dubois -- Emil Bemstrom
Nick Foligno -- Boone Jenner -- Gustav Nyquist
Eric Robinson -- Riley Nash -- Kevin Stenlund
Jakob Lilja -- Devin Shore -- Stefan Matteau
Zach Werenski -- Markus Nutivaara
Vladislav Gavrikov -- David Savard
Scott Harrington -- Andrew Peeke
Joonas Korpisalo
Matiss Kivlenieks
Scratched: Ryan MacInnis, Gabriel Carlsson
Injured:Seth Jones (ankle), Josh Anderson (shoulder), Cam Atkinson (ankle), Oliver Bjorkstrand (ankle), Brandon Dubinsky (wrist), Nathan Gerbe (groin), Dean Kukan (knee), Elvis Merzlikins (concussion), Alexandre Texier (back), Ryan Murray (undisclosed)

Oilers projected lineup

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Connor McDavid -- Zack Kassian
Tyler Ennis -- Leon Draisaitl -- Kailer Yamamoto
Andreas Athanasiou -- Riley Sheahan -- Josh Archibald
James Neal -- Jujhar Khaira -- Alex Chiasson
Darnell Nurse -- Ethan Bear
Oscar Klefbom -- Adam Larsson
Caleb Jones -- Kris Russell
Mikko Koskinen
Mike Smith
Scratched:Gaetan Haas, Patrick Russell, Matt Benning
Injured: Joakim Nygard (hand), Mike Green (knee)

Status report

Murray, a defenseman, will sit out with an undisclosed injury after playing two games in his return from a back injury that caused him to miss 34 games. … Edmonton activated Klefbom from injured reserve and assigned defenseman William Lagesson to Bakersfield of the American Hockey League. ... Nugent-Hopkins will move up to play on McDavid's line for the first time in 2020.

Stat pack

Foligno has five points (three goals, two assists) in his past five games. … Bemstrom has four goals in his past six games. … Draisaitl has 11 points (six goals, five assists) during a four-game point streak. … McDavid has 14 points (two goals, 12 assists) in seven games since returning from a quad injury.