GAME RECAP: Blue Jackets 5, Oilers 4

COLUMBUS, OH – Despite our best efforts to repeat Monday's heroic comeback over the Blue Jackets, the third-period rally came up short on Thursday.

Leon Draisaitl scored twice, including one of his team's two goals in the third period, but the Edmonton Oilers couldn't replicate their final-frame comeback against the Columbus Blue Jackets earlier this week in a 5-4 defeat at Nationwide Arena on Thursday in the second of back-to-back games.

"We battled our way and kept it within striking distance, but weren't able to get the last one to get into overtime," defenceman Darnell Nurse said. "But I think for us as a group, it's not good enough to just try to get to overtime. I think we can all be better."

The German's 11th goal of the campaign made it 2-2 just 1:40 after winger Matt Savoie got the Oilers on the board in the second period after they trailed by two goals early in the stanza off Mathieu Olivier's opening goal in the first and Charlie Coyle's rebound just 44 seconds after the intermission.

The Blue Jackets retook their two-goal lead off tallies from Denton Mateychuk and Adam Fantilli heading into the third period, where Olivier made it 5-2 with 12:30 remaining in regulation before Vasily Podkolzin's third goal of the campaign just 27 seconds later breathed life into another late Oilers comeback.

After Leon Draisaitl made it 5-4 with less than half the final period left, the Oilers had numerous chances at another dramatic comeback against the Blue Jackets, but they weren't able to capitalize on their pressure at even strength and with the net empty as time expired on their 5-4 defeat.

The Oilers will have a team day off on Friday before they continue their seven-game road trip with a visit to Lenovo Center on Saturday to face the Carolina Hurricanes.

"Full 60 beginning on Saturday," Nurse said. "Day off tomorrow, so recharge and get our mind off it and then come back. It's a really hard test that we're going to have on Saturday, and a lot of times that brings out the best of our group. So recharge, refocus, and look forward to the next challenge."

FIRST PERIOD

The Ohio state capital has never been a kind place to the Oilers, and the Blue Jackets arrived ready to give them another hard game on Thursday.

The Blue Jackets were unlucky to be leading only by a goal through 20 minutes on home ice after three shots struck the post and another bounced off the crossbar in the period, with the puck seemingly on its edge and looking hard to control in the second of back-to-back games for the Oilers.

Forward Jack Roslovic's homecoming in Columbus didn't start how he'd hoped by taking a tripping penalty in the first two minutes, sending the Blue Jackets to their first power play and Dmitri Voronkov hitting the iron for the first time tonight off a rebound after having Calvin Pickard beaten on a quick transition.

Minutes later, it was Miles Wood hitting a second iron when he fired through a shot from the right circle under the left arm of Pickard before bouncing on its edge and off the far post, allowing the Oilers and their netminder to escape danger again and keep it scoreless early.

The puck was looking hard to track early in this one, and the Blue Jackets were the ones who used it to their advantage in the first period by filtering as many shots towards the crease as possible and hitting their third post in the opening 11 minutes of the contest.

Voronkov chopped at the puck against Pickard's pad and watched as it bounced off the crossbar before Adam Fantilli took a few whacks at the loose puck at the far post, but he couldn't put it away to give the Blue Jackets a deserved lead with how unlucky they'd been early in this one.

Columbus was able to take the lead with 4:24 left in the opening period after Mathieu Olivier got a tiny piece of Charlie Coyle's effort through traffic that managed to trickle its way through Pickard to give the Blue Jackets a 1-0 advantage.

The Oilers got a late power play on a high-sticking call against Isac Lundestrom with three minutes left, but the Blue Jackets looked the most dangerous, hitting their fourth post of the opening 20 minutes through Voronkov on a shorthanded odd-man rush before the end of the period.

"I thought we were a little too soft around the net, whether they were deflecting pucks or getting inside of us," Knoblauch said. "They scored multiple goals like that, and there was one early in the second period where there was a turnover, and that's unfortunate. There's nothing we can do about that. We have to make it harder for them to get inside position on us, and too often they were left alone in front of the net."

SECOND PERIOD

After a turnover by Evan Bouchard early in the middle frame, Charlie Coyle was able to put away Mathieu Olivier's rebound to make it 2-0 for the Blue Jackets just 44 seconds into the period, but we all know that a two-goal lead is the worst lead in hockey.

Columbus has a keen understanding of that, considering these two teams' last meeting only three nights ago at Rogers Place, when the Oilers fought back from two goals down in the third period to win 5-4 in overtime. But more than one two-goal lead, however, is difficult for any trailing team to overcome.

The Oilers started working harder for their chances and got on the board through Matt Savoie at 11:51 of the frame, with the rookie forward continuing his hot stretch by putting a perfect deflection on Evan Bouchard's point shot to bounce it over the left pad of netminder Jet Greaves to make it 2-1 for Columbus.

Savoie's tally was his second goal of the season, and he now has points in back-to-back games (1G, 2A) after his first multi-point performance last night in Edmonton's 2-1 overtime win over Philadelphia, including the assist on Jack Roslovic's second straight OT winner.

Just 1:40 later, Leon Draisaitl showed determination in scoring the equalizer after winning a faceoff in the offensive zone, fighting his way across the slot and into the right circle before opening up for a one-timer delivered by Evan Bouchard that he blasted past Jet Greaves for his 11th goal of the season.

The German's 10th career goal against the Blue Jackets was the 410th of his career, leaving him seven goals shy of tying Glenn Anderson (417) for the third most in franchise history and 25 points away from reaching 1,000 for his career. But most importantly, it had the Oilers level at 2-2 with half the second period still to play in Columbus.

The Blue Jackets weren't interested in repeating their heartbreak in Edmonton on Monday after they collapsed from a two-goal lead in the third period, and they responded just 20 seconds later to close out a three-goal stretch in 2:10 when Denton Mateychuk finished off a hard bounce off the boards.

That put Columbus back in control, and they restored their two-goal lead 1:40 before the intermission, with Adam Fantilli scoring his third goal in as many games to make it 4-2 after rounding Pickard to slide it home from the pass thrown out in front from the corner by Kirill Marchenko.

THIRD PERIOD

The Oilers gave themselves every possible chance at making another third-period comeback happen against the Blue Jackets.

Down to the very last play of regulation, Edmonton and Columbus duked it out in a thrilling third period for the second time this week, but there'd be no lucky bounce for Jake Walman off the stick of Denton Mateychuk in the last minute coming for the Blue & Orange this time despite the energy they showed.

"The momentum that we had in the third period, we felt that was probably the best we played," Knoblauch said. "But especially starting with Podkolzin's goal in the third, I thought we had a really good push. I thought we didn't show any signs of having the back-to-back."

Early in the period, McDavid was denied by Greaves after getting behind the Columbus defence before Mattias Ekholm buzzed the tower with a heavy slap shot from the left circle that struck the post and went out the other side, continuing the theme of both sides hitting the iron on Thursday.

The Oilers had a crucial power play early in the period, where McDavid attempted to bat an airborne puck out of midair to create a dangerous scramble around the Columbus crease before Greaves parried aside a 95-mile-per-hour heater from Evan Bouchard.

Olivier and Coyle were both locked in for the Blue Jackets on Thursday, recording three points apiece and combining 7:30 into the frame to extend the Columbus advantage to 5-2, making it look like a comeback might not be on the cards for Edmonton this time.

"We were giving up too many looks from the slot and making Picks make too many big saves," Nurse said.

"They obviously have a lot of guys that can produce points and score when you give them time and space, and we gave them too much time."

Vasily Podkolzin's response 27 seconds later between the hashmarks injected life into the Oilers with the possibility of another rally, and Leon Draisaitl's second goal of the contest arrived 3:30 later on a shot through traffic from the right circle that had them back within one with 8:33 left in regulation.

With over five minutes left, a pair of matching roughing penalties to Andrew Mangiapane and Dmitri Voronkov favoured the Oilers by making it four-on-four, with McDavid's wide chip while open in front and Ekholm's heavy blast that was turned away by Greaves, marking their best chances with the extra ice.

The Oilers looked dangerous down to the game's last moment, pulling Pickard for the extra attacker with under two minutes to go.

After relentless pressure from the Oilers, the Blue Jackets had the chance to clear the puck with under five seconds left, but a turnover produced a last-gasp chance for Bouchard in the slot that he missed before time expired on their 5-4 defeat at Nationwide Arena.