Blue Jackets blow by Oilers for 6-1 win

COLUMBUS -- Connor McDavid sustained a lower-body injury on his first shift when the Edmonton Oilers lost 6-1 to the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Monday.

“He’s going to go back to Edmonton,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “He’s going to get evaluated and I’ll have something later tomorrow.”

The Oilers play against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday.

McDavid left the game after he was tripped by Zach Werenski along the right boards while trying to enter the offensive zone during his 37-second opening shift. He appeared to be favoring his left leg while skating to the Oilers bench.

Edmonton ruled him out for the rest of the game midway through the first period. McDavid (three goals, seven assists) is tied with Leon Draisaitl for first on the Oilers with 10 points this season.

“He's our leader and also the best player in the game,” Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. “So of course, you're going to feel it. We’ve got to do a better job of stepping up when a guy like that goes down.”

Sean Monahan scored twice, Cole Sillinger had a goal and two assists and Adam Fantilli and Kirill Marchenko each had two points for the Blue Jackets (4-3-1).

“We’re not going to win every night,” Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said. “We’re not going to (always) have success, but we’re going to work every night and we’ve done that up to this point. We’ve got to continue to do it.”

Elvis Merzlikins, who was making his first start since Oct. 15, made 31 saves. He lost his shutout bid with 27 seconds remaining in the third period.

“I definitely had help from those guys cleaning the guys who were in front of me, my vision,” he said. “It definitely feels good.”

Mattias Ekholm scored, and Stuart Skinner made 19 saves for the Oilers (4-5-1), who defeated the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in overtime on Sunday.

Edmonton is 4-2-1 in its past seven games following a 0-3-0 start.

“Overall, a lot of battles we should have won,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “We know that they're a fast team to capitalize on little breakdowns and that's what we saw.”

Monahan made it 1-0 at 2:18 of the first period with a power-play goal, redirecting Marchenko’s shot past Skinner.

Fantilli scored at 10:44 of the first to make it 2-0 with a one-timer from close range off a pass by Sillinger from the left corner.

Sillinger upped the lead to 3-0 at 14:32 with a wrist shot from the point through traffic after a giveaway at the blue line.

“We talked about within our power play to execute,” Sillinger said. “It’s been a couple of games, so to get one early there. … We get rolling and get a couple there.”

Mathieu Olivier made it 4-0 at 7:04 of the second period. He stole the puck in the right corner and fed James van Riemsdyk in front, but Olivier ultimately pounced on the loose puck for his fourth goal this season.

“We’re really happy with the start, and even more happy after we got up the three goals after the first period,” Evason said. “We played the proper way and obviously scored a few more goals. We didn’t turn the puck over as much.”

Mikael Pyyhtia scored his first NHL goal in his 27th NHL game at 15:15 of the third period from Fantilli to make it 5-0.

“That first goal, you’ll remember all your life so that feels awesome,” Pyyhtia said. “I feel so happy. I was like, ‘Finally, it came.’”

Monahan scored at 16:39 to make it 6-0.

Ekholm scored on the power play at 19:33 for the 6-1 final.

Notes: The Blue Jackets scored six goals for the fourth time this season, which is tied with the Vegas Golden Knights for the most in the NHL. … Marchenko extended his point streak to three games (two goals, three assists). … Ekholm extended his point streak to three games (two goals, three assists). … Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl had his six-game point streak snapped. … The Oilers went 1-for-6 on the power play on Monday.