Kane, Oilers defeat Blue Jackets for 14th straight win

EDMONTON -- Evander Kane scored the go-ahead goal in the third period and had an assist for the Edmonton Oilers in their 14th straight win, 4-1 against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Rogers Place on Tuesday.

Edmonton extended its record for the longest winning streak by a Canadian team in NHL history, which it set Saturday with a 3-1 victory at the Calgary Flames.

Warren Foegele also had a goal and an assist, and Connor McDavid scored for the Oilers (27-15-1), who opened a three-game homestand. They host the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday and the Nashville Predators on Saturday, their last game until Feb. 6.

“We want to finish off this homestand in a good, positive way heading into a week break,” Kane said. “We need to keep collecting points because there’s a lot of teams that are ahead of us that are winning as well. So, it’s great to have the streak, but points are important right now.”

Stuart Skinner made 27 saves and set a franchise record with his 11th straight win, passing Grant Fuhr (1985-86).

“It means a lot,” Skinner said. “I was feeling a lot of emotions, especially when I went out on the ice for the First Star. It is pretty cool to be able to break a record from one of the best goalies to ever live. He is obviously a guy I look up to and have talked to. He is just one of the best. I am very fortunate to be able to break it.”

Dmitri Voronkov scored, and Elvis Merzlikins made 20 saves for the Blue Jackets (14-23-9), who went 0-for-4 on the power play and lost for the fifth time in six games (1-4-1).

“I thought we had a great start and for the first two periods, we were really carrying the play,” Blue Jackets forward Adam Fantilli said. “We’re a team that can really disrupt the flow of a game with our speed, and I thought that was kind of our plan -- to come out and play fast and be disruptive. I thought it was kind of going our way, [but] we got away from it at the end there.

“They’re a great team. They’re going to push, but I think we started to get away from the things that were helping us be dynamic and helping us create those chances and capitalize on those opportunities.”

Foegele gave Edmonton a 1-0 lead on a power play at 7:30 of the first period, redirecting a feed from Kane for his 10th goal of the season.

“It starts off with ‘Stu’ keeping us in that game; that honestly could have been a 5-0 deficit after two periods,” Foegele said. “He was rock solid. He has been playing unbelievable. As a group coming into the third, we knew we needed to be better and I thought we were playing quicker, direct and you could see by the pace of play we were playing in the third.

“In this group, the big message is just being calm. We have great leaders in this room and guys who are just buying into that. It is one thing that has really helped us during this streak.”

Voronkov tied it 1-1 at 15:25 when he capitalized on a Sam Gagner turnover behind the Oilers net, passing it out front to Kent Johnson for a give-and-go that left Skinner diving across his crease.

McDavid thought he put Edmonton back in front at 8:16 of the second period when he beat Merzlikins five-hole from the left circle during a 4-on-3 power play, but the Blue Jackets successfully challenged that McDavid entered the zone offside.

But Kane gave Edmonton a 2-1 lead at 4:53 of the third on a rebound after Ryan Nugent-Hopkins hit the post, and McDavid made it 3-1 just 55 seconds later at 5:48 after Columbus defenseman Erik Gudbranson pushed Oilers forward Zach Hyman into Merzlikins, knocking him to the ice. McDavid’s shot sailed over Merzlikins and into the net.

Dylan Holloway scored on a rebound at 15:36 for the 4-1 final.

The Oilers outshot the Blue Jackets 11-5 in the third.

“We got away with one; we can’t rely on that,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said. “We have to check better, we have to manage the puck. We were waiting for the puck to come to us. They were the faster team for the first 40 minutes. We only had [13] shots in the first two periods. It wasn’t good enough.

“The other teams are getting really excited to play us. We’re on a win streak, they know we’re playing well. They’re excited to end that streak. I think a lot of credit should be given to the other team. We’re getting the other team’s best now.”

NOTES: Knoblauch surpassed Tom Johnson (Boston Bruins, 1970-71) and Andrew Brunette (Florida Panthers, 2021-22) for the longest win streak by a coach in his first NHL season. … McDavid leads the Oilers with 19 points (six goals, 13 assists) over their win streak, during which time they’ve outscored the opposition 54-23. … Edmonton defenseman Cody Ceci had an assist and blocked four shots in 20:25 of ice time. … The Blue Jackets have lost 10 of their past 13 games (3-6-4).