Draisaitl, Oilers Roll past Blue Jackets 4-1

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Leon Draisaitl had two goals and an assist, Mike Smith stopped 23 shots and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1 on Wednesday night.

James Neal and Jujhar Khaira also scored for the Oilers, who had dropped two in a row. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins added two assists.

Draisaitl’s second goal, his team-leading 12th of the season, chased Joonas Korpisalo, who had his second lacklustre outing in a row. He allowed four goals on Edmonton’s first 12 shots before he was replaced by Elvis Merlikins, who finished with 19 saves.

Zach Werenski scored for the Blue Jackets in their second consecutive loss after going 4-0-2 in the previous six games.

Neal got his 11th goal when he snapped in a power-play shot from the left circle off a pass from Draisaitl 9:11 into the game. Late in the first period, Draisaitl beat Korpisalo from the right circle seconds after a power play ended.

James Neal Edmonton Oilers — James Neal, Edmonton Oilers (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

The Oilers opened a 3-0 lead 1:20 into the second when Khaira tapped home a rebound that trickled through Korpisalo’s legs.

Columbus got on the board on its first power play. Werenski converted a one-timer from the slot at 6:55 of the second.

Notes

Draisaitl has nine points in his past four games. He got his 200th assist on Neal’s first-period goal. … Smith started after Mikko Koskinen played Tuesday. … Columbus D Markus Nutivaara returned after missing two games with a lower-body injury. … Entering the game, both teams were 5-0-0 when scoring first. … Korpisalo played in his 100th NHL game. … Oilers F Riley Sheahan left the game. No reason was given. … Werenski scored his 41st career regular-season goal to tie Rostislav Klesla for the most ever by a Blue Jackets defenceman.