Game Preview: Blue Jackets Look To Start New Streak Back At Home, Seek Revenge Vs Oilers Thursday Night

Thursday night marks the beginning of a three-game homestand for the Columbus Blue Jackets as they look to turn their fortunes and begin a new streak.

As they look to turn the page from a 1-3-1 road trip that put the Blue Jackets through the blender, including five different time zones, they'll get their chances for redemption against an 8-6-4 Edmonton Oilers squad that came back late to tie the game against Columbus and win Monday night in overtime.

Here are five things to know in advance of the 7:30 p.m. puck-drop:

• The Oilers come into Thursday's game off the heels of consecutive Jack Roslovic overtime wins, beating the Blue Jackets in comeback fashion 5-4 on Monday night and then beating the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 on Wednesday. That comes after the Colorado Avalanche dismantled the Oilers 9-1 in Edmonton last Saturday night.
   
• Aside from keeping the former Jacket, Roslovic, off the scoreboard, Columbus knows they'll have their hands full with Connor McDavid, who has 36 points (11 goals, 25 assists) against Columbus in 19 career games. He had two goals on Monday night and enters play on a six-game point streak (four goals, six assists).
   
• Ever since the Blue Jackets reunited Adam Fantilli with Dmitri Voronkov and Kirill Marchenko, he's been starting to heat up. Fantilli enters game action on a three-game point streak (two goals, three assists) and points in four of his last five games.
   
• Speaking of Marchenko, he's still on fire. Marchenko will look to continue his career-best nine-game point streak (three goals, eight assists). He had an assist against Edmonton on Monday and has goals in all but two games this season.
   
• The Blue Jackets lost Boone Jenner to an upper-body injury during Tuesday's game against the Seattle Kraken, and Denton Mateychuk was hurting a bit after blocking a shot but remained in the game. We'll see what the possible ramifications are if Jenner can't go and whether illness is still affecting the team. After Jet Greaves broke the alternating goalie rotation and played the back-to-back Monday and Tuesday, it looks like he'll make his third straight start, as he was in the home net during Thursday's practice. Kent Johnson is back in the lineup after being a healthy scratch on Tuesday. The below is based on the morning's line rushes.