GAME THREAD: Edmonton Oilers @ Columbus Blue Jackets

Edmonton Oilers (46-26-6, 2nd, Pacific)

Columbus Blue Jackets (35-36-7, 6th, Central)

24 April 2022

Nationwide Arena

11 AM MT

TV: Sportsnet West

Radio: 630 CHED

SB Nation Opponent: The Cannon

The Oilers are back in action this afternoon after doubling up the Avalanche on Friday night. Powered largely in part by Evander Kane’s hat trick, Edmoton’s 6-3 win over Colorado pushed them into the playoff picture for only the third time since their run for the Stanley Cup in 2006. With four game remaining in the regular season, they head to Columbus looking for win number 47 today.

THREE THINGS TO LOOK FOR

• MISSING NURSE: Darnell Nurse suffered a lower body injury in Friday’s win over the Avalanche and will miss today’s game in Columbus and Tuesday’s game in Pittsburgh. Elliotte Friedman confirmed that Nurse’s ailment is not expected to be serious, and that he’ll be back for when the playoffs start in a week’s time.
• MISSING PULJUJARVI TOO: Puljujärvi will miss his second consecutive game due to illness. Like Nurse, he did not make the trip. Look for Kailer Yamamoto to be up top one more time.
• MIKKO IN GOAL: The Oilers will start Mikko Koskinen in Columbus today. Koskinen will look for his 26th win on the season, it would be a new career high.

The Oilers cannot catch the Flames in the standings, but a win today will lock down the second spot in the Pacific. It would also put Edmonton at 100 points on the season, something I’m not sure any of us would have seen happening 90 days ago.