PREVIEW: Oilers at Blue Jackets

Forwards Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick will join the Oilers in Columbus for Thursday night's meeting with the Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena as the Blue & Orange attempt to make it six straight victories.

You can watch the game on Sportsnet West at 5:00 p.m. MT or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 630 CHED.

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PREVIEW: Oilers at Blue Jackets

COLUMBUS, OH – Welcome to Oil Country, Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick.

The Oilers newest additions aren't in Edmonton yet, but the two forwards, who were acquired in a trade with the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday, will arrive in Columbus to join their new teammates in time for the pre-game skate on Thursday morning at Nationwide Arena before their matchup with the Blue Jackets at 5:00 p.m. MT.

“They're both flying in [Wednesday]," Oilers GM & Pres. of Hockey Ops Ken Holland said. "They'll both be at practice tomorrow morning and I'll talk to Kris here tonight, but I'm looking forward to seeing what he's thinking for line combinations."

Edmonton sits second in the Pacific Division with a 38-20-2 record having won five straight games heading into Thursday's meeting with Columbus, and the Blue & Orange are set to add two important pieces up front that will bolster their centre depth, provide versatility to their lineup and play roles on the penalty kill down the final stretch of the regular season and coming push through the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

On Thursday morning, forward Dylan Holloway was loaned to the Bakersfield Condors in a corresponding move to the trade.

• BLOG: Henrique & Carrick valued for versatility & veteran presence

"It's two more guys that can kill penalties," Holland said. "I believe they were number one and number two in terms of time on ice for penalty-killing with Anaheim. Special teams are critical come playoff time, and I think this time of the year, teams are making the moves that they're making because we're all planning on playing into June.

"If you're going to be playing into May and June, you need depth. You're probably going to have some injuries and you need people to step in, so having seven centres obviously gives us real good depth down the middle.”

Henrique had been one of Anaheim's top offensive contributors before his trade to the Oilers, recording 42 points in 60 games with the Ducks and scoring 13 of his 18 goals this season at even strength.

The 34-year-old is averaging 52.9 percent in the face-off dot this year and has experience playing both left wing or centre, making him a fit in their top-nine forwards either on the third line with players like Ryan McLeod who can also take draws, or potentially on the second line as a potential offensive outlet to Leon Draisaitl and Evander Kane.

Ultimately, the 34-year-old former two-time Memorial Cup champion with the Windsor Spitfires is just excited to see how it all shapes out after he gets on the ice Thursday morning alongside Carrick, who'll look to provide similar versatility along with his agitator style from the bottom six.

"Honestly, I have no idea where I'll be playing. We haven't gotten that far," Henrique said. "To me, it doesn't really matter if I'm playing with a winger or on the wing, or if I'm playing with another centreman. I've done that throughout my career when I was in New Jersey and even before that too, so I think anytime you can play with two centremen, it's a bonus. You can kind of flip-flop positions.

"As far as the D-zone coverage kind of stuff goes, it's really more just little details on faceoffs and your assignments, so I don't have a preference. It's kind of wherever we can slot in, and whatever the team needs to make the better lineup is good with me."

The Oilers are coming off a late third-period comeback and overtime victory over the Boston Bruins on Tuesday, earning their fifth straight win after Leon Draisaitl equalized with 1:20 left in regulation before converting a one-timer in overtime set up by McDavid for his 60th career game-winning goal, tying Jari Kurri for the fourth-most in franchise history.

With the assist, McDavid now has 99 points through 58 games this season, including 28 over his current 12-game point streak (2G, 26A) as the Oilers captain looks to become the sixth player in NHL history with at least seven seasons of 100 points.

Edmonton has outscored its opponents 17-7 over their current win streak and are 33-8-1 in their last 42 games – their most wins in a 42-game span in a single season in franchise history.

The Blue Jackets made a trade of their own back on Feb. 22 when they acquired forward Alex Nylander from the Pittsburgh Penguins for winger Emil Benstrom. Nylander has since produced six points in six games on the Blue Jackets second line with Alexandre Texier and Cole Sillinger after recording zero points in fives games with the Penguins\.

Forward Johnny Gaudreau leads the Blue Jackets in scoring with 45 points this season, the third-fewest points among players currently leading their team in points behind San Jose's Mikael Granlund (38) and Chicago's Connor Bedard (43), while their leading goalscorer Boone Jenner's total of 19 leaves Columbus as one of only three teams in the NHL (San Jose & Chicago) to not have a 20-goal scorer on their roster.