The Oilers fall to the Blue Jackets after losing Connor McDavid to injury

The visiting Edmonton Oilers lost center Connor McDavid to a lower-body injury in the first minute against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday night and went on to lose the game 6-1.

McDavid was tripped as he crossed the blue line shortly after winning the opening faceoff. The three-time Hart Memorial Trophy (Most Valuable Player) winner and seven-time All Star slid skates first into the sideboards and corner before leaving the ice under his own power.

Edmonton then conceded three goals in the next 14 minutes.

Sean Monahan scored two goals, Cole Sillinger had a goal and two assists. Adam Fantilli added a goal and an assist and Elvis Merzlikins made 31 saves for the Blue Jackets, who alternated losses and wins in the first nine games of the season.

Columbus’ Mikael Pyyhtia and Mathieu Olivier also scored.

Mattias Ekholm scored and Stuart Skinner made 19 saves for the Oilers, who had won two straight.

Columbus was on an early power play when Kirill Marchenko fed Monahan from the top of the right circle. Monahan directed the puck from the slot into the net for a 1-0 lead at 2:18.

Sillinger passed the puck from the corner below the goal line to Fantilli, who scored a one-timer for a 2-0 lead at 10:44.

Sillinger made the final score 3-0 at 14:32 when he fired the puck from the left point and it hit the net.

The Blue Jackets failed to capitalize on a four-minute high-sticking penalty against Derek Ryan at 2:16 of the second period, but Columbus scored on the power play on the next shift to extend the lead to 4-0.

The Blue Jackets recovered the puck back behind the Edmonton goal line and it passed forward to James van Riemsdyk, who made a short pass to Olivier for the tap-in goal at 7:04.

Pyyhtia scored his first NHL goal in his 27th game off a pass from Fantilli to make it 5-0 at 15:15 of the third period.

Monahan followed up with his second goal of the game at 16:39 to make the score 6-0.

Merzlikins was denied his 11th NHL shutout when Ekholm scored a power play goal with 27 seconds left.

–Field level media