After a convincing performance on Wednesday night against the Philadelphia Flyers winning 2-1 in OT, the Edmonton Oilers face the Columbus Blue Jackets on the second half of back-to-backs. The game also serves as a rematch from the Oilers 5-4 OT victory over the Blue Jackets on Monday night.
It comes as the second leg on a seven game road trip, the longest for the Oilers for the entire 2025-26 NHL season.
It is set to be a good match with the Oilers hoping to extend their winning streak to three games, while the Jackets hope to keep their streak alive and get revenge on the team that beat them earlier this week.
Should be a close game once again
Like the last game the two teams played against each other, this should be a relatively close score once more. The Oilers will hope to keep it close for most of the and not force themselves into a position where they have to rally together and come back from behind by multiple goals.
This should be a very doable goal, both teams find themselves with similar records at this point in the season but different spots in the NHL standings. The Oilers are third in the Pacific Division with a 8-6-4 record through 18 games while the Blue Jackets are 8th in the Metropolitan Division with a 8-7-1 record in 16 games. A win or loss in either direction could create a fairly large swing for either team with the parity across the league right now.
Players to watch
Calvin Pickard
Oilers backup Calvin Pickard will assume the starter's goal for this game and he has had a rough year so far in 2025-26. He sports a 2-2-1 record in five starts with a 4.00 goals against average and .836 save percentage. There will be major pressure on him to keep the streak alive in this game and judging by these team's last outing, he will need to be strong.
David Tomasek
After being a healthy scratch for multiple games and at various parts this season, David Tomasek is given a chance to be inserted back in the lineup Thursday night as the Oilers look to extend their winning streak. So far through 13 games played this season he has one goal and two assists for three points. He will have pressure, especially with the club going through a cap crunch soon as Zach Hyman is pulled from long term injured reserve.
Darnell Nurse
Of all the defencemen on the roster, no one aside from Evan Bouchard is paid more than Darnell Nurse. He is also the longest tenured Oiler and has been a lightning rod for criticism. Especially on the second half of a back-to-back, when players will be tired, he has the chance to step up as a veteran presence and leader keep them in the game.