Oilers lose to Blue Jackets, fail to clinch second in Pacific

COLUMBUS -- The Edmonton Oilers failed to clinch second in the Pacific Division when they lost 5-2 to the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Sunday.

Connor McDavid had two assists to set a new single-season career high with 118 points (43 goals, 75 assists) for the Oilers (46-27-6), who had won four straight.
Edmonton, which has clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, is two points ahead of the Los Angeles Kings for second in the Pacific.
"We talked before the game that this game was going to be a learning opportunity," Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said. "We learned some stuff. We did generate a lot of offensive opportunities. And on a personal level, we can be sharper. We can be sharper to convert those."
Nick Blankenburg scored his first NHL goal, and Jakub Voracek (three assists) and Oliver Bjorkstrand (goal, two assists) each had three points for the Blue Jackets (36-36-7), who were 0-3-1 in their past four games. Elvis Merzlikins made 33 saves.
"Their goaltender played very well," Woodcroft said. "That's the type of goaltending you're going to see down the stretch and in the playoffs. You have to find a way to be personally sharp."
Blankenburg, a defenseman playing his sixth game, scored a power-play goal at 9:14 of the third period for a 3-2 lead.
"I'm trying to hold in a smile the whole time," he said. "It's a dream come true, just to score a goal, at home against Edmonton to go up 3-2 with 10 minutes left. That's very special for me."

Jack Roslovic scored at 16:45 to make it 4-2, and Cole Sillinger scored an empty-net goal with 47 seconds left for the 5-2 final.
"Their goalie played well but as you get closer to the playoffs, those chances are harder to come by," Oilers forward Zach Hyman said. "So, we've got to get ourselves to bear down, especially against a team like that. You can kind of put them away early, take the life out of the game and shut it down, but they made saves and we didn't capitalize."
Evander Kane scored at 3:08 of the first period for a 1-0 Oilers lead.
Eric Robinson tied it 1-1 at 15:58, scoring his 10th goal with a backhander after the initial shot by Voracek was saved.
Leon Draisaitl made it 2-1 at 5:30 of the second period with his 55th goal of the season and 24th on the power play. He was in the right circle to one-time a cross-ice pass by McDavid.

Columbus coach Brad Larsen credited Merzlikins with shutting down the Oilers the remainder of the game.
"You know they are going to spend some time in your zone," Larsen said. "When we had some breakdowns, especially in the second, he made some outstanding saves. Without him, we don't get to where we were at the end of that game."
Bjorkstrand tied it 2-2 at 1:36 of the third period for his first goal in 12 games.
"It feels good," he said. "I've been (in) a little bit of a slump. For myself when I have slumps, I try and keep my game a little bit simple, small little victories. That definitely helps your game get going. When you find a chance, you just need to find a way to bury it."
Mikko Koskinen made 26 saves for Edmonton.
"We had a chance to win that and I think we could have padded that lead a little earlier for sure," Oilers defenseman Tyson Barrie said.
NOTES:The Blue Jackets had lost five straight to the Oilers since March 22, 2018, getting outscored 21-5. … Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse missed the first of at least two games with a lower-body injury and forward Jesse Puljujarvi was out a second straight game because of illness. … McDavid is the first Edmonton player with more than 116 points in a season since Mark Messier scored 129 points (45 goals, 84 assists) in 1989-90. McDavid scored 116 points (41 goals, 75 assists) in 2018-19. … Kane, who scored a hat trick in a 6-3 win against the Colorado Avalanche on Friday, has a five-game point streak (eight points; five goals, three assists). … Blankenburg is the eighth Blue Jackets player to score his first NHL goal this season. … Columbus forward Yegor Chinakhov returned after missing eight games with an upper-body injury; he had two shots on goal in 9:48 of ice time.