The Edmonton Oilers vie for their third straight win and look to avenge a previous loss to the Blue Jackets on Saturday afternoon when the teams meet in Columbus, Ohio.

Edmonton owns an 11-1-5 record in its last 17 games, with its lone regulation setback being a 6-2 loss at Montreal on Feb. 12. Since then, the Oilers are 2-0-3 and are coming off a 7-2 road rout of Pittsburgh on Thursday.

“When we’re skating at that level, I think we are a tough team to handle,” Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said.

To no surprise, Edmonton superstar captain Connor McDavid continues to thrive with a career-high 46 goals to go along with 63 assists. He recorded four points (two goals, two assists) on Thursday, marking the ninth time this season he has reached that mark in a game.

“I heard someone say it’s like living at the foot of Everest; you almost get numb to what you’re seeing every day,” Woodcroft said of McDavid. “I think it’s important that everybody takes a step back and understands that we’re seeing someone at the top of their craft in the prime of their career putting out there what he’s putting out.”

McDavid, however, managed only an assist during the Oilers’ 3-2 overtime home loss to Columbus on Jan. 25. Teammate Zach Hyman scored one of his career-high 27 goals in that contest.

Meanwhile, rookie Kent Johnson scored in overtime for the Blue Jackets in that game, while Johnny Gaudreau managed just an assist. Gaudreau, with a team-leading 52 points, returned from a two-game absence due to a lower-body injury in Thursday’s 2-0 loss to Minnesota.

Columbus, last in the Eastern Conference with 41 points, has dropped two straight (0-1-1) after winning two in a row. The Blue Jackets have also been shut out twice and totaled five goals during their last four home games (1-3-0).

“You’ve got to fight for your ice,” Columbus coach Brad Larsen.

“When you get behind, you’re chasing.”

The Blue Jackets’ Joonas Korpisalo made 23 saves on Thursday and has stopped 88 of 92 shots in his last three starts. He made 34 saves at Edmonton last month.

Edmonton’s Stuart Skinner (2.89 goals-against average) has allowed two goals in each of his last two starts after yielding all six in that loss to Montreal earlier this month. However, the Oilers’ Jack Campbell has a 4.33 GAA during his current 0-0-3 starting rut.

Fellow Edmonton star Leon Draisaitl has six goals with five assists during a seven-game point streak. He failed to register a point against the Blue Jackets last month, however.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored a goal on Thursday. It marked his 600th career point since being selected as the top overall pick of the 2011 NHL Draft.

“I’ve been lucky to be part of this group for a long time and play with some great players,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “I think every year, like everybody else, I’m trying to get better and better and work out my game, try to round it out a lot. I want to be that two-way player. Trying to find my stride.”

–Field Level Media

Alex Ovechkin returned to the Washington Capitals only to find his team in an unfamiliar situation, mired in a lengthy losing streak and a seller ahead of next week’s trade deadline.

Rapidly fading in the Eastern Conference playoff race, the Capitals are mired in their first six-game regulation losing streak of Ovechkin’s career heading into a visit from the New York Rangers on Saturday afternoon.

Ovechkin missed four games following the death of his father in Russia and rejoined the Capitals on Thursday when they allowed the final three goals of a 4-2 home loss to the Anaheim Ducks. Ovechkin was held without a goal for a fifth straight game, and Washington’s latest loss occurred after dealing Garnet Hathaway along with longtime defenseman Dmitry Orlov to the league-leading Boston Bruins.

The streak is Washington’s longest skid of regulation losses since Oct. 14-29, 2003, when they were engaged in a full-blown rebuild that eventually netted them Ovechkin with the top overall pick of the 2004 draft.

During the streak, the Capitals are getting outscored 24-10 and are looking to avoid a seventh straight regulation loss for the first time since an eight-game skid from Jan. 1-13, 1990.

Washington also is 8-13-2 since its second five-game winning streak Dec. 17-27 that culminated in a 4-0 rout of the Rangers in New York. That was a part of a stretch of 10 wins in 11 games (10-1-0), and the Capitals have gone from third place in the Metropolitan to two points behind the suddenly surging Detroit Red Wings for the second wild-card spot.

“We still have a chance to make the playoffs,” Ovechkin said. “You never know what’s gonna happen. We just will continue to play. Nothing we can do. We players, we have to play the game and it’s not our job to make a decision.”

The Rangers added Vladimir Tarasenko in a trade with St. Louis on Feb. 9 and are rumored to be in the mix for Patrick Kane if the Chicago Blackhawks star waives his no-trade clause.

In the meantime, they are hoping to avoid losing three straight in regulation for the second time this season. New York dropped three straight in regulation Nov. 23-28 against Anaheim, Edmonton and New Jersey and is also looking to avoid its second four-game skid with the other occurring when it went 0-2-2 from Oct. 20-26.

New York took a 3-2 overtime loss in Calgary last Saturday that extended its points streak to 10 games. The Rangers are coming off consecutive 4-1 losses marking the second time under coach Gerard Gallant they took consecutive defeats by at least three goals.

After collecting a season-high 51 shots but constantly getting denied by Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck on Monday, the Rangers took 31 shots in a 4-1 loss at Detroit on Thursday. Gallant said the Rangers did not show up in that loss, which dropped them six points behind the second-place New Jersey Devils in the Metropolitan.

“A little too sloppy,” New York captain Jacob Trouba said. “Not our best game for sure. I think we’ve had a couple now that we lost, and we’ve got to get back on track.”

–Field Level Media

The Minnesota Wild will try to extend their winning streak to five games Friday night when they visit the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Minnesota opened a two-game trip Thursday night with a 2-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets as Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 30 shots to earn his 73rd career shutout.

The Maple Leafs are coming off a 6-3 road victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday, Ryan O’Reilly scored three goals in his third game with Toronto and Mitchell Marner had a career-best five assists.

In Columbus, Fleury was at his best during a third-period flurry by the Blue Jackets.

“We didn’t expect anything different from (Fleury),” Wild coach Dean Evason said. “If anyone did, then they haven’t watched his entire career.”

Brandon Duhaime and Kirill Kaprizov scored first-period goals for Minnesota.

“Our first key was discipline,” Evason said. “We’ve had problems with it this year. I think every team probably does. But our group, if we stay out of the penalty box, it gives our five-on-five game a chance to score five-on-five and it gives our penalty kill a chance to have success. So, we have to continue to harp on staying out of the box.”

Minnesota put defenseman Jonas Brodin (lower-body injury) on injured reserve on Thursday.

The Wild recalled defenseman Dakota Mermis from the Iowa of the American Hockey League, where the 29-year-old had five goals and 19 assists in 46 games.

Mermis and Calen Addison were into the lineup at Columbus with Jon Merrill (illness) not with the team.

“Mermis and Addy came in and played extremely well,” Evason said.

Minnesota forward Marcus Foligno played his first game since he blocked a shot with his left knee on Feb. 13 against the Florida Panthers.

“We liked our defense, period,” Evason said. “The six guys that played and obviously (Fleury), but the forwards, too. We competed. …

“To have a lead and play a stingy defensive game is absolutely perfect for us.”

The Wild defense will face a stern test against the Maple Leafs.

O’Reilly and Noel Acciari were obtained in a trade on Feb. 17 from the St. Louis Blues. They made an immediate impact in games before having their first practice with the Maple Leafs on Thursday.

“Obviously, they’re excited to be here,” Toronto center Auston Matthews said. “It’s been fun to get to know them. We’ve gotten a big boost (from them), a lot of really good energy is flowing. That’s what you look for when you pick up key guys like that.

“We’ve been really welcoming. I think they’ve come in here and made themselves at home and it’s been a lot of fun.”

O’Reilly is playing center on a line with Marner and John Tavares, usually a center who moved to the wing.

Tavares had a goal and three assists on Tuesday and O’Reilly added an assist to give the line a total of 13 points.

The line produced three goals and nine points in the first 7:14 of the game.

“They were at their best right from the start,” Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. “That line, our team in general, our team game in that first period, it was as dominant as we’ve been all season long. It was tremendous to see.”

Toronto announced Wednesday that defenseman Jake Muzzin (cervical spine injury) will be out for the rest of the season, including the playoffs.

–Field Level Media

The Los Angeles Kings’ path to the playoffs grew more complicated over the span of a few hours Thursday night.

The New York Islanders, on the other hand, didn’t have to do a thing to improve their standing in the Eastern Conference wild-card race.

The Kings will look to bounce back from a potentially costly loss when they continue their five-game road trip on Friday with a game against the Islanders in Elmont, N.Y.

Los Angeles will be completing a back-to-back set after squandering a two-goal lead and falling to the New Jersey Devils 4-3 in overtime on Thursday.

The Islanders were off Thursday after edging the visiting Winnipeg Jets 2-1 on Wednesday.

The Kings took a 2-0 lead in the first period at New Jersey and went ahead 3-2 when Sean Durzi scored with 4:19 left in regulation. However, with Devils goalie Vitek Vanecek pulled for the extra attacker, Nico Hischier redirected a shot by Jack Hughes with 38.6 seconds left to tie the game.

New Jersey’s Dawson Mercer scored 2:30 into overtime to damage Los Angeles’ standing in the Pacific Division and Western Conference wild-card races.

“There’s not a lot of teams that come into this building or play against that team that leave with points,” Kings head coach Todd McLellan said of the Devils, who are in second place in the Metropolitan Division with 81 points. “On the other side of it, it is disappointing we couldn’t get the last 30 seconds done.”

The Kings, who have 72 points, fell into a tie for second place in the Pacific with the Edmonton Oilers by virtue of the Oilers’ 7-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Los Angeles also dropped three points behind the first-place Vegas Golden Knights, who edged the Calgary Flames 4-3 in overtime.

The Kings are just five points ahead of the second wild-card position, held by the Colorado Avalanche. Los Angeles did get some help later Thursday night when the Boston Bruins overcame a third-period deficit to edge Seattle 6-5, leaving the Kraken at 70 points and atop the West’s wild-card race.

The Islanders — who lead the East’s wild-card race with 67 points, three more than the Detroit Red Wings and Florida Panthers — got a pair of breaks during their night off.

In addition to the Penguins losing and remaining at 63 points, the Washington Capitals (62 points) traded veterans Garnet Hathaway and Dmitry Orlov to the Bruins hours before falling 4-2 to the Anaheim Ducks.

The losses for the Penguins and Capitals continued an encouraging four-day span for the Islanders, whose playoff hopes appeared imperiled on Saturday when star center Mathew Barzal sustained a lower-body injury in a 6-2 loss to the Bruins. Barzal is listed as week-to-week.

However, the Islanders scored three third-period goals on Monday to beat the Penguins 4-2 before outlasting the Jets on Wednesday, when New York had just 22 shots but edged Winnipeg on Simon Holmstrom’s goal with 10:03 left in the third.

“Everybody is upping their game just a little bit more to fill the void of missing so many of our key players,” said Islanders left winger Matt Martin, who usually plays on the fourth line but has seen time on the first line in place of Barzal this week. “Now we’ve just got to keep going.”

–Field Level Media

A chance to move into the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot is on the line when the Buffalo Sabres face the Florida Panthers on Friday in Sunrise, Fla.

The Sabres are coming off a 6-5 overtime win against the host Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, a victory that moved them to within two points of the Detroit Red Wings, who currently sit in the final wild-card position, and the Panthers.

A victory in regulation against Florida would put Buffalo in a tie with Detroit and Florida in points, but the Sabres have four games in hand on the Panthers and three games in hand on the Red Wings.

“We try to push to the playoffs right now and it’s so important for us,” said Buffalo defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin, who scored the game-winner against the Lightning on a short-handed breakaway. “We need it. Game by game and we try to get in a better spot.”

Tage Thompson notched his league-leading fourth hat trick of the season in the win against Tampa Bay, setting a career high with 39 goals and increasing his career-best point total to 75.

“For me, when I’m skating up the ice, I’m just trying to get open, find a spot and most of the time (defenseman Rasmus Dahlin and winger Jeff Skinner) will find you,” he said. “It was one of those nights where everything was coming to me.”

Florida hasn’t played since earning a 4-3 overtime win against the visiting Anaheim Ducks on Monday. The Panthers have alternated wins and losses over their past seven games. They haven’t won consecutive games since capturing three straight from Jan. 28-Feb. 9.

Despite the team’s up-and-down season, it’s been nothing but up for forward Carter Verhaeghe, who hit the 30-goal mark for the first time in his career when he scored in OT on Monday. He leads the Panthers in goals and is second on the team with 52 points, three points shy of his career high set last season.

“I always believe in myself and know that I have another gear,” Verhaeghe told the team’s website. “The more I play, the more I can get better. That’s been pretty much my whole career. I’m just trying to learn and find new ways to score. I want to be a better player ever day.”

It’s expected the Panthers will get a boost to their lineup against Buffalo, with forward Anthony Duclair in line to make his season debut after recovering from offseason surgery to repair an Achilles tendon injury.

“I’m very excited,” he said. “It’s been awhile. I’ve never been out long term like that. It’s definitely been a grind. I’ve learned a lot and grew from it. There’s a lot of emotions, especially this week. I feel back to where I was. I feel 100 percent. I feel great and I’m looking forward to it.”

The Panthers could also get center Sam Bennett back after a three-game absence caused by a lower-body injury. A decision on his status as well as that of captain Aleksander Barkov and forward Eric Staal will be made Friday.

Florida has allowed at least three goals in each of the past four games and in five of the past six.

–Field Level Media

Jake DeBrusk tipped home Charlie McAvoy’s shot from the left point with 1:38 to play as the Boston Bruins outlasted the host Seattle Kraken 6-5 in a wild Thursday night affair.

David Krejci, David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand all had a goal and an assist for Boston, which has won five consecutive games. Brandon Carlo scored the first of the Bruins’ two third-period goals, while McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm had two assists apiece.

The winning goal was DeBrusk’s third goal in three games since returning from injuries. Jeremy Swayman made 36 saves, improving to 9-1-3 in his last 13 decisions.

Matty Beniers, Jamie Oleksiak and Vince Dunn each logged a goal and an assist for Seattle. Yanni Gourde and Schwartz added to the Kraken’s scoring. Philipp Grubauer stopped 27 shots, but Seattle lost its second straight game.

Wild 2, Blue Jackets 0

Kirill Kaprizov scored his team-leading 34th goal and Marc-Andre Fleury stopped all 30 shots he faced for his 73rd career shutout as visiting Minnesota blanked Columbus. Fleury’s 73 shutouts rank 12th on the NHL’s all-time list.

The win snapped Minnesota’s five-game road losing streak and extended its overall win streak to four. Minnesota killed off its 22nd straight penalty in the win and has not given up a power-play goal in nine straight games.

Thursday marked the return of Columbus star Johnny Gaudreau, who missed two games due to a lower-body injury. Gaudreau’s consecutive-games played streak ended at 349, the third-longest active iron man streak in the NHL, behind Phil Kessel (1,038) and Brent Burns (734).

Sabres 6, Lightning 5 (OT)

Ilya Lyubushkin scored the game-winner on a short-handed breakaway 1:41 into overtime, Tage Thompson posted his fifth career hat trick and Buffalo beat host Tampa Bay.

With Buffalo opening overtime on a four-on-three penalty kill, Lyubushkin notched his first goal in 42 games this season by stripping Steven Stamkos up top and breaking in on goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (17 saves). Lyubushkin beat him on the short side to move Buffalo to 7-3 in overtime.

Nikita Kucherov set up Stamkos’ goal to stretch his team-record home point streak to 19 games, dating back to a three-assist game against the St. Louis Blues on Nov. 25.

Oilers 7, Penguins 2

Connor McDavid had two goals and two assists as Edmonton scored seven straight goals to defeat host Pittsburgh.

Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins each added a goal and an assist; Kailer Yamamoto, Devin Shore and Warren Foegele also scored; and Tyson Barrie had two assists for the Oilers, who have won two straight. Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner made 22 saves.

Kris Letang scored twice and Evgeni Malkin had two assists for the Penguins, who have lost four straight. Pittsburgh goaltender Tristan Jarry gave up six goals on 29 shots through two periods and was replaced by Casey DeSmith, who made 14 saves.

Devils 4, Kings 3 (OT)

Dawson Mercer remained red-hot, scoring a tying goal early in the third period before collecting his first overtime goal to lift New Jersey past visiting Los Angeles, which has lost the first two games of its five-game road trip, each by one goal.

After taking the puck along the boards and passing it to Dougie Hamilton, Mercer then dashed past Drew Doughty and into the crease, where he took the puck back from Hamilton and chipped the puck past Pheonix Copley for his seventh goal in the last five games.

Tomas Tatar scored in the second period for the Devils, who have won three of four. Goalie Vitek Vanecek made 19 saves. After Sean Durzi gave the Kings a 3-2 lead in the third, Nico Hischier drew the Devils even again to force overtime by redirecting a shot by Jack Hughes with 38.6 seconds left in regulation, setting up Mercer’s heroics.

Golden Knights 4, Flames 3 (OT)

Alex Pietrangelo put in a rebound 42 seconds into overtime as Vegas rallied from a two-goal deficit to defeat Calgary in Las Vegas.

Jack Eichel had a goal and an assist and William Carrier and Zach Whitecloud also scored goals for Vegas, which won for the sixth time in seven games while improving to 8-0-0 all-time against Calgary at T-Mobile Arena. Laurent Brossoit finished with 25 saves in the victory.

Mikael Backlund and Jakob Pelletier each had a goal and an assist and Jonathan Huberdeau snapped a nine-game goal drought for Calgary. Vladar stopped 25 of 29 shots he faced.

Predators 6, Sharks 2

Mikael Granlund scored two goals in a three-point game and Nino Niederreiter tallied twice to lead visiting Nashville past San Jose.

Tommy Novak registered one goal and one assist and Yakov Trenin added a goal for the Predators, who have won three of four games. Matt Duchene collected three assists while Juuse Saros made 22 saves.

Nico Sturm and Martin Kaut replied for the Sharks, who have lost four of five games. James Reimer stopped 25 shots.

Red Wings 4, Rangers 1

Andrew Copp had a goal and two assists against his former team and host Detroit won for the seventh time in eight games by defeating New York.

Filip Zadina scored his second goal of the season for Detroit. Michael Rasmussen had a goal and an assist and Filip Hronek also scored, while Ville Husso made 30 saves. David Perron added two assists for the Red Wings, who were coming off a 4-1-0 road trip.

Vincent Trocheck scored the only goal for the Rangers, who have lost three straight following a seven-game winning streak. Jaroslav Halak made 19 saves for New York, which had just two power plays and came up empty both times.

Canucks 3, Blues 2 (OT)

Elias Pettersson scored on an end-to-end rush with 15 seconds left in overtime to complete a three-point night and lift visiting Vancouver to a victory over St. Louis.

Pettersson also assisted on goals by Andrei Kuzmenko and J.T. Miller as the Canucks won for just the third time in their last nine games (3-4-2). Rookie goaltender Arturs Silovs made 20 saves to earn his second NHL victory.

Alexey Toropchenko and Tyler Tucker scored and Jordan Binnington made 38 saves for the Blues, who lost their fourth straight game (0-3-1).

Ducks 4, Capitals 2

John Gibson made 41 saves for visiting Anaheim in a win against Washington in Washington D.C.

Isac Lundestrom, Troy Terry, Jakob Silfverberg and Derek Grant scored while Cam Fowler had two assists for the Ducks, who ended a six-game losing streak.

T.J. Oshie and Nick Jensen scored and Charlie Lindgren made 17 saves for the Capitals, who have lost six in a row.

–Field Level Media

Mikael Granlund scored two goals in a three-point game and Nino Niederreiter tallied twice to lead the visiting Nashville Predators to a 6-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Thursday.

Tommy Novak registered one goal and one assist and Yakov Trenin added a goal for the Predators, who have won three of four games. Matt Duchene collected three assists while goaltender Juuse Saros made 22 saves.

Nico Sturm and Martin Kaut replied for the Sharks, who have lost four of five games. Goalie James Reimer stopped 25 shots.

Due to injuries, the Predators were without top-line forwards Ryan Johansen and Filip Forsberg, and the Sharks missed star Timo Meier for a second consecutive game.

Niederreiter’s power-play goal opened the scoring at the 6:24 mark when his long shot ricocheted off a defender’s stick and into the cage.

Granlund doubled the lead 88 seconds into the second period. After a blocked shot came right to him, Granlund sniped an offering from the left faceoff dot.

Sturm put the Sharks on the board with a short-handed goal at 8:37 of the middle frame when he chased down a loose puck in the neutral zone and converted the breakaway for his career-high 12th goal of the season.

However, Granlund restored the two-goal edge at 13:34 of the period by finishing a give-and-go with Philip Tomasino for his ninth of the campaign.

Trenin added a short-handed goal with 29 seconds remaining in the middle frame, finishing a feed from Cole Smith for his eighth goal of the season.

Kaut again made it a two-goal deficit with his tally 50 seconds into the third period, his second of the season and first since being acquired from the Colorado Avalanche.

But Niederreiter’s second of the night, and fourth in three games, midway through the third period quashed any comeback hopes. His pass attempt banked off a defender’s stick and into the goal for his 18th of the season.

Novak added a power-play goal with six minutes remaining, his fourth in four games and eighth of the season, to round out the scoring.

–Field Level Media

Jake DeBrusk tipped home Charlie McAvoy’s shot from the left point with 1:38 to play as the Boston Bruins outlasted the host Seattle Kraken 6-5 in a wild Thursday night affair.

David Krejci, David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand all had a goal and an assist for Boston, which has won five consecutive games.

Brandon Carlo scored the first of the Bruins’ two third-period goals, while McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm had two assists apiece.

The winning goal was DeBrusk’s third goal in three games since returning from injuries. Jeremy Swayman made 36 saves, improving to 9-1-3 in his last 13 decisions.

Only 4:10 remained when Jaden Schwartz tipped home Will Borgen’s shot from the right point to give Seattle a 5-4 lead, but Carlo redirected Lindholm’s diagonal feed from the circle a half-minute later to set up DeBrusk’s heroics.

Matty Beniers, Jamie Oleksiak and Vince Dunn each logged a goal and an assist for Seattle.

Yanni Gourde and Schwartz added to the Kraken’s scoring.

Philipp Grubauer stopped 27 shots, but Seattle lost its second straight despite outshooting the Bruins 41-33 and scoring the game’s only power-play goal.

Seattle played from the front as Beniers scored at the 40-second mark. Krejci tied it at 1-1 with a goal 10 1/2 minutes later.

Boston did not go ahead until nearly halfway through a combined six-goal second period, but its 3-2 and 4-3 advantages lasted for a mere total of two minutes.

Beniers slotted home the first Seattle shot, a wrister from the top of the left circle at the end of a three-on-one rush. Shortly after a series of Swayman saves, the Bruins evened the score at 11:18 on Krejci’s one-timer from low on the left.

The Kraken reclaimed the lead 1:17 into the second. After Alex Wennberg won a faceoff, Dunn’s slapper went in through traffic in front. Seattle’s 2-1 edge lasted only 1:06 as Pastrnak worked down on the left wing and cut inside for a game-tying goal over Grubauer’s shoulder.

Marchand followed McAvoy’s long shot for a rebound goal at 8:49, giving the Bruins their first lead at 3-2. Just 58 seconds later, however, Oleksiak buried Morgan Geekie’s backhand feed with a wrister as the trailer on the rush.

Marchand set up Bergeron for a two-on-one short-handed goal with 2:09 left in the second, but Seattle made it 4-4 during the same power play 62 seconds later when Gourde’s pass attempt deflected off McAvoy’s stick.

–Field Level Media