The Edmonton Oilers took the first step in salvaging their current road trip, blanking Columbus on Thursday night.
Dwayne Roloson made 28 saves in the 4-0 win at Nationwide Arena. It was the Edmonton netminder's fourth shutout of the season.
Edmonton's Ryan Smyth fends off Ron Hainsey of Columbus on Thursday night. Smyth scored his 30th of the season in the Oiler win.
(Paul Vernon/Associated Press)
Ryan Smyth and Shawn Horcoff combined for six points to lead the way offensively. Horcoff had a pair of goals, while Smyth and Laroslav Smid — with his first career goal — also scored.
Edmonton (29-26-6) began the night eight points behind eighth-place Calgary in the Western Conference playoff race.
The Oilers had lost the first four games of their seven-game road trip, though they gained single points in two of the contests.
"We're playing for our lives here," said Horcoff. "It was pretty intense for us. It was a good win to build on."
Fredrik Norrena stopped 24 shots in a losing cause for Columbus (23-32-6). The Blue Jackets found themselves shorthanded seven times, allowing two power-play goals.
"We had a lot of guys whose performance was well below the bar," Columbus coach Ken Hitchcock said. "I think there's a focus somewhere else for some people and it showed today."
After Horcoff opened the scoring just over two minutes into the game, he drew an assist on Smyth's 30th later in the period.
Smyth, who turned 31 on Wednesday, redirected the puck with his back to the Columbus net on an Oilers power play.
It is the fourth time Smyth has reached the 30-goal plateau.
Tempers flared soon after when Jody Shelley levelled Edmonton's Tom Gilbert with what appeared to be an elbow. While Gilbert lay on the ice, teammate Mathieu Roy challenged Shelley to a fight.
Roy drew an instigator penalty and Columbus could not score, having a goal waved off by the officials when it was ruled to have hit a high stick.
Smid's first NHL goal was the only goal of the middle frame, the result of a pretty Oilers set-up by Raffi Torres.
"He went through two guys and made a great pass," Smid said. "It's a great feeling after 50-some games. I waited a long time."
Roloson started the rush on the early third-period goal, with Smyth circling behind the net and finding Horcoff alone in the slot.
Columbus tried to jam the puck home in the final 20 seconds to prevent Roloson's shutout bid, but the netminder held firm.
"I thought we played a great game," said Roloson, who had lost three straight. "We capitalized on our chances and we were able to sustain a lot of pressure down low."
The Oilers will complete their road trip with games in Detroit on Friday and at Minnesota on Sunday.
With files from the Associated Press
