Edmonton Oilers rally to rout Columbus Blue Jackets 6-3 -NHL Update
Edmonton was on a roll going up against the lowest ranked team in the Western Conference, Columbus, as Oilers rallied in round-two to down Blue Jackets, 6-3, on Sunday night, March 25, 2012, at the sold-out Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
Oilers’ veteran right winger, Ryan Jones, picked up three points during the contest as he added a goal and assisted two more, giving Edmonton the extra boost needed to take the high scoring match.
They were playing their fourth straight matchup in the United States on a four-game road trip, which certainly had Edmonton exhausted coming into the Sunday night competition.
"We came into this one with our eyes closed," Edmonton coach, Tom Renney, said. "You try to conjure up the proper emotion and passion to play and sometimes it's just not quite there. Luckily for us we did respond to their goal."
Despite having no hopes of making the playoffs again, Edmonton is definitely not giving up anytime soon.
"We've certainly had our trials and tribulations this year to say the least," added Renney. "We have hockey yet to play. Our hope and our objective is to make sure that we finish the whole season this way. It's a good trip for us. We've got to go home now
and take care of some business there and then head back out again.”
Mark Letestu kicked off the scoring with his 10th of the 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season at 16:46 of the first.
Edmonton launched their scoring onslaught in the second 20-minute period as Ryan Jones added the second followed by a minor break from Columbus’ Rick Nash at 7:42. Chris Vande Velde added his first of the year while Ladislav Smid, Ben Eager and Sam Gagner
fired three more straight.
Derick Brassard tried bringing Columbus back into the contest on the power play with less than six minutes remaining while Eric Belanger of Edmonton capped it off at 18:10 shorthanded.
Edmonton will definitely be looking for their third straight win going up against Dallas Stars on Wednesday. Blue Jackets have the next against Detroit Red Wings on Monday.
Both teams can expect a tough time in their next contests since the two teams are hot at the moment.
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