Oilers out to cool red-hot Blue Jackets

The Columbus Blue Jackets are luxuriating in the rarefied air of a 15-game winning streak, going through an out-of-body experience and now it’s the Edmonton Oilers’ turn Tuesday to see if they can maybe choke the life out of a team that’s long been a speck on the NHL map. But now is News Central. Fifteen straight W’s. In a league that’s full of faith, hope and parity.

A streak that’s gone from Nov. 29 to Dec. 31. Two wins in shootouts, one in OT, 12 in 60 minutes.

Only one other team in NHL history — the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins of Mario Lemieux, Kevin Stevens, Rick Tocchet and Ron Francis, all over 100 points, and Jaromir Jagr at 94 — has ever gone longer at 17 straight games with a W.

The 1981-82 New York Islanders of Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy, Denis Potvin and Billy Smith, went 15 in a row just like Columbus. So did the 2012-2013 Penguins of Crosby and Malkin and Fleury in net.

Now, we’ll see if the Oilers, one of those 15-game victims (3-1 on Dec. 13), can erase it.

“You’ve got to look forward to the challenge,” said Oilers winger Milan Lucic. “You have to embrace it … that’s the fun in being a competitor and on a competitive team. It’s playing the best of the best. Now that the (Ohio State) Buckeyes are out, the focus is on the Blue Jackets.”

Lucic is an Oiler now, but also a fan of the Jackets. They lost their first two games in October and have three regulation L’s in their last 33. They’re plus 50 in goal differential (123-73).

“For sure, you pay attention to what the Blue Jackets are doing. Not just me but guys around the league are tuning in to see what they’re doing and how they’re doing it. It wasn’t by accident that Sportsnet put on a Minnesota (12 straight wins)-Columbus game Saturday. I’m sure a lot of people watched. Columbus has been that good.”

Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky has a 1.95 average and .934 save percentage on the year. Jack Johnson and defence partner David Savard are plus 21 and plus 24. They have four guys in the top 20 in scoring — Cam Atkinson, eighth with 37 points, Alex Wennberg, 17th with 33 and Brandon Saad and Nick Foligno tied for 20th with 32 points each.

“The opportunity to end their streak is something we’re all excited about,” said former Blue Jackets centre Mark Letestu.

“To beat a team on top of their game and on top of the league would be a feather in our cap.”