Columbus Blue Jackets v Edmonton Oilers Live

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Without any doubts, very few expected the Blue Jackets to start the 2009-10 season with five wins in six games and two important victories on the road. That said, they will have to keep up their high level of play versus the Edmonton Oilers who are coming off back-to-back victories at home. Thus, the game between the Oilers and Blue Jackets will get underway at Rexall Place on Friday at 1:30 a.m. GMT.

Hoping for another post-season appearance, the Edmonton Oilers came out of the gates all fired up and went on to post a 5-2-1 record. Most importantly, Edmonton’s offense around Ales Hemsky has been on fire as they scored an impressive 30 goals in eight contests. Even though their defense seemed a bit unorganized at times, they looked like a team in the playoff mix thus far. One concern has been the performance of former All-Star goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin who did not play up to his potential as he allowed 3.11 goals per game.

In contrast, everything seemed to go Columbus way in the first three weeks of play. Led by the veteran leadership of captain Rick Nash, the Blue Jackets played excellent hockey and were able to feed off their great defense so far. More specifically, the squad of coach Ken Hitchcock only allowed 12 goals, helping them to compensate for their lack of efficiency at the other end of the ice. Offensively, Rick Nash has been the most valuable scorer with 3 goals and 7 assists for a total of 10 points.

Considering the strengths and weaknesses of both teams, it appears to be a justified assumption that the Oilers will have a slight advantage offensively, while the Jackets feature better defensive lines. Therefore, both teams could find themselves on a level playing field when they meet at Rexall Place on Friday night.

You can watch all games of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Edmonton Oilers right here on www.watchlivenhl.com, the home of NHL live streaming.