COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Blue Jackets were winding down another dominant victory when the near-sellout crowd at Nationwide Arena began to chant.
“We want 16! We want 16!”
Columbus delivered, and now it will try to tie an NHL record on Thursday night.
Cam Atkinson and William Karlsson scored power-play goals and Columbus beat the Edmonton Oilers 3-1 to extend their winning streak to 16 games – one away from the longest ever in the NHL.
Nick Foligno also scored for the Blue Jackets, who can tie the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins with a victory Thursday at Washington.
“Everything feels good right now,” Columbus Coach John Tortorella said. “They deserve it. I’m proud of the team. I’m really happy with how they’ve handled these past three games, with all the talk (of the streak) and all that.”
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 21 shots for Columbus, which started the new year on the right note after winning all 14 games in December. The Blue Jackets haven’t lost since Nov. 26.
Oscar Klefbom scored for Edmonton. Cam Talbot had 32 saves for the Oilers.
“We didn’t come anywhere close to their pace or their tenacity, their relentlessness,” Edmonton Coach Todd McLellan said.
DEVILS 3, HURRICANES 1: Adam Henrique, Michael Cammalleri and Kyle Palmieri each had a goal and an assist as New Jersey halted Carolina’s 11-game home points streak.
SABRES 4, RANGERS 1: Evander Kane and Justin Bailey scored 1:42 apart around the first intermission, leading Buffalo to a win at Madison Square Garden.
Zemgus Girgensons and Jack Eichel also scored, and Anders Nilsson stopped 24 shots to help the Sabres win for just the second time in eight games.
CAPITALS 6, MAPLE LEAFS 5: Alex Ovechkin scored 22 seconds into overtime and Washington rallied to beat visiting Toronto, which had its five-game winning streak snapped.
CANADIENS 2, PREDATORS 1: Shea Weber scored in the third period of his return to Nashville and Max Pacioretty had a goal late in overtime, helping Montreal win.
Weber helped send it to overtime with his tying goal at 4:26 of the third. This was the first game between these teams since a stunning blockbuster trade last June, when they swapped All-Star defensemen, with the Predators getting P.K. Subban.
JETS 6, LIGHTNING 4: Nikolaj Ehlers had two goals, including a penalty shot during a three-goal second period, as Winnipeg won at Tampa, Florida.
NOTES
ALL-STAR GAME: Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens, Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers and P.K. Subban of the Nashville Predators were voted as divisional captains for the three-on-three tournament at the upcoming NHL All-Star Game.
Subban has been out of the lineup since Dec. 15 with a lower-body injury and is expected to miss more time.
If Subban can’t play, he’d be replaced by the second-leading vote getter in the Central. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks were second and third in voting as of Dec. 27.
The three-on-three tournament takes place Jan. 29 in Los Angeles.
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