The Edmonton rediscovered some of their offense on Wednesday night in Columbus where they defeated the Blue Jackets, 4-1.
Leon Draisaitl struck for two goals in a rare outburst of offense for the Oilers.
“We’ve been trailing a lot this season,” Draisaitil said. “It’s tiring trying to come from behind all the time. It’s nice to play with the lead and get off to a good start.”
Mike Smith made 23 saves for the victory.
Zach Werenski scored the lone goal for the Blue Jackets.
“When you’re playing a team on a back-to-back, you want to get on them right away,” Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. “To let their top players touch the puck as much as they did in the first period to get themselves into the game, you’re pushing an uphill battle.
“We didn’t climb the hill after that. We didn’t climb it.”
James Neal and Jujhar Khaira also scored for Edmonton.
“He’s (Neal) very confident right now, and he’s fun to have on the ice,” Edmonton’s Oscar Klefbom said. “He’s going to be a very important piece for us because the power play’s so important for teams who are going to make the playoffs.”
For Khaira, it was his first goal of the season.
“It’s a nice weight off your shoulders, for sure. I mean, it’s been 14 games, and I can tell you one thing: I’ve thought about it every single day,” Khaira said.
[WATCH:Â All Oilers vs. Blue Jackets highlights]
Joonas Korpisalo got the start for Columbus, but was given the hook in the second period after yielding all four Oilers goals on just 12 shots.
“Early on, we didn’t play nearly hard enough, that was evident by the score,” Werenski said. “We left [Korpisalo] out to dry tonight.”
Elvis Merzlikins made 19 saves in relief.
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