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Columbus Blue Jackets' Ivan Provorov, right, knocks Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid to the ice during the first period of an NHL hockey game Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. Photo by Jay Laprete /THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

By Robert Tychkowski

Talk about things going from bad to worse in a hurry. Monday night went so badly so quickly for the Edmonton Oilers on Monday it was like a plane crash BEFORE takeoff.

Just when it looked like things might finally be going their way after back-to-back wins over Pittsburgh and Detroit lifted them to .500, the Oilers took a double-barrelled shot in the mouth Monday in Columbus.Not only did they get bombed 6-1 by the Blue Jackets, but that turned out to be the least of their worries on a night when Connor McDavid got injured on his first shift of the game.

The game crashed into the mountain almost instantly, with McDavid getting tripped up at high speed by Zach Werenski as he entered the Columbus zone. He fell awkwardly, slid into the corner and then glided back to the Edmonton bench favouring his left leg.And that was it. One shift, 37 seconds. Within minutes, the Oilers sent out a media release saying the captain would not be returning to the game but provided no details on the injury or his availability moving forward. Head coach Kris Knoblauch did say after the game that McDavid is flying back to Edmonton and will miss the last game (Nashville) of their road trip, at least

The rest of the night was downhill from there. McDavid’s injury seemed to suck the life right out of the Oilers, who gave up goals at 2:18, 10:44 and 14:32 and found themselves trailing 3-0 at the first intermission on six Columbus shots.

Everything that had been plaguing them in their slow start this year reared it ugly head again in this one as the Blue Jackets tore at the bewildered Oilers until there was nothing left.

The worst penalty kill in the NHL lived up to its reputation. The Blue Jackets needed just 48 seconds into their first man advantage of the game to make it 1-0. It is the 11th power-play goal against in 10 games.

COLUMBUS CRIME SCENE A SPOOKY GLIMPSE OF OILERS WITHOUT CONNOR MCDAVID

You want spooky for Halloween?

All you had to do is watch the Edmonton Oilers without Connor McDavid Monday night.

It was like the aftermath of a slasher movie, nothing but Oilers blood and guts strewn all over Nationwide Arena.

And if their humbling 6-1 slaughter is a sign of what’s to come while the Oilers captain recovers from the injury he suffered against the Columbus Blue Jackets, then prepare to be frightened out of your wits.

“It’s your captain and your best player,” said Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch, who might as well have sent five zombies over the boards for all the Oilers got done against a 3-3-1 Nashville team.

“It should be an opportunity for guys to step up and say ‘I got this.’ It’s more ice time, more opportunity.”

As it turned out, it was just more opportunity to make things worse as the Oilers fell behind 3-0 in the first 15 minutes and bled out from there, with their only goal coming in the final 30 seconds of the third period.

“He’s our leader and also the best player in the game, so of course you’re going to feel it,” said Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, shaking his head at the crime scene. “But we have to do a better job of stepping up when a guy like that goes down.”

FORMER OILERS TEAMMATES CONVERGE TO SEE GREGG, MACTAVISH INDUCTED TO WALL OF FAME

When Craig Simpson heard that Craig MacTavish and Randy Gregg were the newest members of the Edmonton Oilers Wall of Fame, he cheered.

“These honorees are the best examples of how you win championships. You have two key guys who are critical role players. Mac and Randy are the true examples up front and on the back end. I really like that connection, those two going in at the same time,” said Hockey Night in Canada’s lead commentator Simpson at a press conference Friday before their names go up on the Wall of Fame at the end of the Oilers-Penguins game.

“We all knew it. You listen to Gretz, Mess talking about those sorts of guys that allowed those Oiler teams to be as good as they were and in Randy’s case, he’s one of the few (seven players) to have won all five Stanley Cups. That showed Randy’s resiliency,” said Simpson, who was part of a cavalcade of former Oilers Cup winners out Friday to salute Gregg and MacTavish.

The boosters included the other five members of the Oilers defence for a four-year run that included the first two Cup victories — Lee Fogolin and Kevin Lowe, Paul Coffey and Charlie Huddy and Gregg’s partner Don Jackson, who flew in from Germany where he coached for years until retiring from the bench. Fogolin and Huddy are already on the Wall of Fame.

Forwards

1. Connor McDavid: 10 GP, 3G, 7A, 10 PTS

2. Leon Draisaitl: 10 GP, 6G, 4A, 10 PTS

3. Jeff Skinner: 10 GP, 2G, 2A, 4 PTS

4. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins: 10 GP, 1G, 3A, 4 PTS

5. Mattias Janmark: 10 GP, 0G, 2A, 2 PTS

Defenceman

1. Brett Kulak: 10 GP, 2G, 1A, 3 PTS

2. Mattias Ekholm: 10 GP, 2 G, 6 A, 8 PTS
3. Darnell Nurse: 10 GP, 0 G, 3 A, 3 PTS
4. Evan Bouchard: 10 GP, 3G, 3A, 6 PTS

Goalie

1. Stuart Skinner: 7 GP, 2-4-1, .872 SV%, 3.51 GAA
2. Calvin Pickard: 4 GP, 3-2-1 .875 SV%, 2.91 GAA

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Edmonton Oilers' Troy Stecher, right, tries to skate past Columbus Blue Jackets' Mikael Pyyhtia, left, during the third period of an NHL hockey game Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

By David Staples

All the air went out of the Edmonton Oilers after Connor McDavid was knocked out of Monday night’s game on his first shift.

The Columbus Blue Jackets quickly got up by three goals in the first. The rest of the game was uneventful, CBJ eventually winning 6-1.

As for McDavid, at the end of second period, Bob Stauffer of Oilers Now reported: “We don’t know what it is yet… I have no idea what is the prognosis at this stage. I don’t know if anybody does. It’s obviously quite concerning.”

Stauffer concluded: “We have no idea where it’s at right now.”

McDavid will be sent home to Edmonton for evaluation while the rest of the team moves on to play in Nashville, Oilers Kris Knoblauch said.

As for the game, Edmonton had 12 Grade A shots compared to 13 for CBJ, with the subset of most dangerous 5-alarm shots six each for both teams.

Connor McDavid. Incomplete. He got blatantly tripped by Zach Werenski on the first shift. Not a dirty play, as it looked like Werenski was going for the puck. But no penalty and to add injury to insult, it took McDavid out of the game. He looked OK-ish coming off the ice. We shall see. Fingers crossed. Contributions/mistakes on Grade A shots (GAS): Even Strength +0/-0; Special Teams 0/0

Zach Hyman 7. Edmonton’s best player. He tried singlehandedly to keep the Oil in the game, but to no avail. He knocked down an errant clearance and plowed into the slot for Edmonton’s first Grade A, then was sent in by RNH for another, then barged in again for a third good shot, but no goals. He drew a penalty late in the first to create a 2-man advantage. He threw a hard hit on Kirill Marchenko early in the third, a rare sign of Oilers life. GAS: ES +4/-0; ST 0/0

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 3. Great lofted pass to Hyman for an early break-in. but otherwise nothing to report. More is needed. GAS: ES +1/-0; ST 1/1

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