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Blue Jackets begin road trip looking to snap skid in Edmonton

Mar 18, 2015 - 2:27 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Columbus Blue Jackets look to snap a six-game losing streak in Edmonton on Wednesday night as they begin a three-game swing through Western Canada with a matchup against the Oilers.

The Blue Jackets have not picked up a victory in Edmonton since Jan. 7, 2010 and have lost 11 of their past 13 as the road team in this series. Columbus is just 5-17-2 all-time in Edmonton.

The Blue Jackets have won two straight at home over the Oilers, including a 5-4 shootout win last Friday. Alexander Wennberg had the lone goal of the tiebreaker, while Marko Dano, Cam Atkinson, Artem Anisimov and Scott Hartnell tallied in regulation for Columbus.

Sergei Bobrovsky made 31 saves in the win, while Ben Scrivens stopped 27 shots for the Oilers. Edmonton got goals from Jordan Eberle, Derek Roy, Andrew Ference and Nail Yakupoinjury.

Lundqvist is 25-11-3 with a 2.25 goals against average, .922 save percentage and five shutouts in 39 starts this season, but the Rangers have hardly felt his loss as Talbot has gone 13-2-3 since Lundqvist's injury.

Talbot is 17-6-4 with a 2.19 GAA, .926 save percentage and five shutouts in 29 games (27 starts) on the season and has yielded one goal or fewer in five of his past six outings.

New York has needed his stellar play as it has just 10 goals over a five-game winning streak, getting tallies from James Sheppard and Matt Hunwick in Sunday's 2-1 win over the Panthers.

Hunwick snapped a 93-game goal drought and Sheppard got his first goal with the Rangers since being acquired from San Jose on March 1, while Talbot came up with 38 saves.

"We were very fortunate that our goaltender was on top of his game," said Rangers coach Alain Vigneault.

New York improved to 14-1-2 over its past 17 games and is five points ahead of the New York Islanders for first place in the Metropolitan Division with an NHL high-tying 95 points.

Though Lundqvist appears close to returning, the Rangers did lose forward Martin St. Louis for the next 10-to-14 days because of a lower-body injury sustained versus the Panthers. In 68 games this season, the 39-year-old has registered 20 goals and 27 assists.

The loss of St. Louis could put more pressure on Talbot, who has won both of his career starts versus the Blackhawks while giving up only one goal on 61 shots faced. He posted a 29-save shutout in a 1-0 overtime win at Chicago on March 8.

Derick Brassard scored 32 seconds into overtime as the Rangers topped the Blackhawks for a third straight time. They also have won five of the past seven encounters at home.

Corey Crawford ended with 35 saves for the Blackhawks, falling to 1-2-1 with a 2.03 GAA and .931 save percentage in four career meetings with the Blueshirts.

Chicago is aiming for a fourth win in a row and helped the Rangers' chances at a division title with last night's 4-1 win over the New York Islanders. Jonathan Toews led the way with four points off a pair of goals and two assists.

Marian Hossa also scored and Patrick Sharp notched a pair of helpers one game after breaking out with two goals in a win over San Jose on Saturday.

"We were making plays," said Toews. "I think Hossa and I fed off of Sharp's momentum from the last game."

Crawford made 38 saves to extend Chicago's point streak to six games in a row (5-0-1). The 'Hawks are four points back of the second-place Nashville Predators in the Central Division and are five ahead of Minnesota.

The Blackhawks begin a four-game road trip and it is unknown if Crawford will get the start again tonight or if backup Scott Darling will make his first appearance since Feb. 27.

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS (30-35-4) AT EDMONTON OILERS (19-39-12), 10 P.M.

(SportsNetwork.com) - The Columbus Blue Jackets look to snap a six-game losing streak in Edmonton on Wednesday night as they begin a three-game swing through Western Canada with a matchup against the Oilers.

The Blue Jackets have not picked up a victory in Edmonton since Jan. 7, 2010 and have lost 11 of their past 13 as the road team in this series. Columbus is just 5-17-2 all-time in Edmonton.

The Blue Jackets have won two straight at home over the Oilers, including a 5-4 shootout win last Friday. Alexander Wennberg had the lone goal of the tiebreaker, while Marko Dano, Cam Atkinson, Artem Anisimov and Scott Hartnell tallied in regulation for Columbus.

Sergei Bobrovsky made 31 saves in the win, while Ben Scrivens stopped 27 shots for the Oilers. Edmonton got goals from Jordan Eberle, Derek Roy, Andrew Ference and Nail Yakupov.

Hartnell's goal forced overtime with 3:37 left in regulation, part of a solid run of games for the forward. He was named the NHL's First Star of the Week on Monday for notching five goals in four games.

Hartnell and Nick Foligno had goals in Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, while Bobrovsky allowed three goals on 27 shots as Columbus had a three-game win streak broken.

Carolina netted all three of its goals in the second period.

"It was a frustrating period, to say the least. I don't think we're a good enough team to win when it's not 20 guys going," Hartnell said.

Columbus is set to visit Vancouver on Thursday and Calgary on Saturday and it is likely that Bobrovsky and Curtis McElhinney will split the starts over the first two games of the swing.

Bobrovsky is 4-3-0 with a 2.87 goals against average and .890 save percentage in seven games (6 starts) versus the Oilers. McElhinney, who hasn't started since March 7, is a perfect 4-0-0 against the Oilers with a 2.39 GAA and .920 save percentage in seven games (4 starts).

The Blue Jackets may begin this trip without Anisimov and fellow forward Brandon Dubinsky, Both players came out of Sunday's game banged up and did not practice on Tuesday, while the club recalled center Ryan Craig from the minors on an emergency basis.

The Oilers, meanwhile, are looking to win two straight for the first time since Jan. 17-20, halting a seven-game slide (0-5-2) with Monday's 4-1 win over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs.

Edmonton got all four of its goals in the first period, with Eberle scoring and notching two assists to lead the way. Benoit Pouliot had two goals, one just 53 seconds into the game, and Anton Lander tallied to help back Scrivens' 28 saves.

"We kind of got a little sloppy and a little undisciplined. They got a chance to come back, but (Scrivens) was there to shut the door," said Eberle, who has four goals and seven assists over a five-game point streak.

Edmonton won the opener of a six-game homestand, but lost Matt Fraser with 9:02 left to play after he was hit in the head by the elbow of Toronto's Nazem Kadri, who received a two-minute penalty for an illegal check to the head.

Fraser did not practice on Tuesday as sustained a concussion on the hit.

Scrivens is 1-0-1 with a 2.41 GAA and .929 save percentage in two games versus the Blue Jackets.

LOS ANGELES KINGS (34-22-13) AT ANAHEIM DUCKS (44-20-7), 10:30 P.M.

(SportsNetwork.com) - The Los Angeles Kings look to grab sole possession of third place in the Pacific Division on Wednesday night when they take on the first-place Anaheim Ducks.

The Kings are 5-1-1 in their past seven games, with Monday's 1-0 win over the Arizona Coyotes putting them into a tie with the Calgary Flames for third place. Both clubs have 81 points, though Los Angeles will use its game in hand over Calgary tonight.

The Kings also trail the second-place Vancouver Canucks by three points, while the Ducks are running away with the division with an 11-point lead.

Jonathan Quick notched his second shutout in three games and sixth of the season with a 25-save effort versus the Coyotes. He got just enough support as winger Andy Andreoff scored his first career goal in his 15th NHL game.

Andreoff scored with 1:05 left in the second period as he took a pass from Jordan Nolan before scoring five hole. Defenseman Brayden McNabb also picked up an assist, giving him four in his last four games.

"We worked hard and had good focus. It was tough scoring. We played a team that is tough checking," Kings coach Darryl Sutter said.

Six of Quick's 37 career shutouts have come versus the Coyotes, while he has blanked the Ducks just once. He is 14-7-5 versus Anaheim overall with a 2.46 goals against average and .907 save percentage in 28 meetings.

Anaheim is seeking a third victory in a row, following up a three-game slide with wins over Minnesota and Nashville. The Ducks rallied from a two-goal deficit with four third-period goals to beat the Predators 4-2 on Sunday.

The Ducks recorded their league-leading 11th win when trailing after two periods as Ryan Getzlaf, Kyle Palmieri, Nate Thompson and Cam Fowler all tallied. John Gibson added 25 saves.

"Any time you go down a couple, you have to believe that no matter what happens, you can still come back and make a game of it," Fowler said. "We've proven throughout the year that's something we can do."

The Ducks, who are tied for the NHL lead with 95 points, may turn back to Frederik Andersen in net tonight and he is 4-0-1 lifetime versus the Kings with a 2.29 GAA and .925 save percentage.

Anaheim is 7-0-2 in its last nine meetings with the Kings, taking three in a row as the host.