[9:09 PM] Blue Jackets @ Oilers

Who will WIN this matchup?

Columbus Blue Jackets (17-5-4)

@ Edmonton Oilers (15-11-5)

Starting Goalies:

Sergei Bobrovsky (CBJ): Unconfirmed

Cam Talbot (EDM): Confirmed

• The Columbus Blue Jackets are having a tough time climbing the ladder in the Metropolitan Division despite winning six in a row and recording a 7-0-1 mark in their last eight games. With the ultra-competitive division boasting five of the top seven teams in terms of points, the fourth-place Blue Jackets look to continue their successful ways on Tuesday when they open a three-game road trip against the Edmonton Oilers. Cam Atkinson has collected multi-point performances in each of his last three games, including scoring a goal and setting up another for the second straight night on Saturday in a 6-2 rout of the New York Islanders.

• Veteran forward Mark Letestu was credited with two goals in the third period on Sunday after Winnipeg rookie Patrik Laine mistakenly shot the puck into his own net, allowing Edmonton to snap a four-game skid with a 3-2 victory over Winnipeg. The 31-year-old Letestu has four goals and two assists in his last seven games overall and has three assists in as many meetings against a Columbus team with which he spent parts of four seasons.

• Sam Gagner rode his fourth career four-point performance on Dec. 5 toward receiving NHL Third Star of the Week honors on Monday. The former first-round pick of the Oilers has 11 goals and 19 points to already surpass last season’s totals in Philadelphia and looks to improve upon those marks versus Edmonton, with which Gagner spent his first seven NHL seasons. Sergei Bobrovsky has regained the form that saw him capture the Vezina Trophy in the lockout-shortened 2013 season, yielding just seven goals during a five-game winning streak while boasting a strong .933 save percentage in his last 11 starts.

• Captain Connor McDavid, who set up a goal on Sunday to pad his league-best totals for assists (27) and points (39), shredded Columbus with two goals and three assists in two outings last season. Linemate Leon Draisaitl was held off the scoresheet versus the Jets, but the 20-year-old still has 10 goals and 18 points in his last 15 games. While the Oilers’ offense is getting plenty of bang for the buck, the team’s defense could receive a boost on Tuesday as blue-liners Brandon Davidson (upper body) and Eric Gryba (undisclosed) inch closer to a return. Unfortunately for Edmonton, defenseman Darnell Nurse is expected to be out up to 12 weeks after having surgery to repair ligament and bone damage to his ankle.

• Edmonton is 10-for-23 on the power play this month.

StreakSmarts Pick: Columbus Blue Jackets

Confidence: 4/10