COLUMBUS, O – The Oilers lost more than the result Monday night at Nationwide Arena, falling 6-1 to the Blue Jackets and suffering their fourth straight loss in Columbus while losing Connor McDavid to a lower-body injury early in the first period.

Mattias Ekholm broke the shutout in the final minute on the power play, but the Blue Jackets scored six straight goals after the departure of the Oilers captain early in the opening period, who left with a lower-body injury suffered when he fell into the boards. on a missed tripping penalty during the opening shift.

“He’s going back to Edmonton to be evaluated,” said Head Coach Kris Knoblauch. “I’ll have (an update) later tomorrow.”

Center Sean Monahan scored twice for the Blue Jackets, and Cole Sillinger (1G, 2A), Adam Fantilli (1G, 1A) and Kirill Marchenko (2A) all finished with multi-point games. Forward Mikael Pyhhtia also scored his first NHL goal.

Ekholm extended his point streak to three games (1G, 4A) with the late power play marker, while Corey Perry and Darnell Nurse had the assists. Goaltender Stuart Skinner made 19 saves on 25 shots in the loss, dropping Edmonton’s overall record to 4-5-1.

The Oilers haven’t beaten the Blue Jackets on the road since November 30, 2019. They have lost by a 21-10 goal margin in their last four visits to Columbus, conceding six goals on two separate occasions.

The Oilers have two days to determine the status of their captain before returning to Bridgestone Arena to take on the Nashville Predators on Thursday.

“Now that Stan (Bowman) is here, we discussed it and will decide tonight or tomorrow who will replace him,” Knoblauch said.