LIVEBLOG: Columbus Blue Jackets at Edmonton Oilers, Regular Season NHL matchup

7:27pm: Oilers. Bluejackets. Sportsnet. Next!

7:30pm: "Khabi times are ahead?" "Bulin Wall" special report. Actually he's doing pretty good, considering how many shots he gets per game.

7:31pm: Mike Comrie has the flu, but has to play anyways. Flu, eh? Is that what they're calling Syphilis these days?

7:33pm: Stone, Souray, Stais, Pouliot, Pisani, Brule. Enough injuries for mid-October? I just hope Visnovsky can play a complete season

7:34pm: Kevin Quinn & Louis Debrusk are your announce crew.

7:35pm: Follow @PaqTwinn on Twitter to have a live tweet-cast of this game as well.

7:38pm: .977 save percentage for former Oiler Mattieu Garon in net for the Jackets. Yikes.

1st period, 19:12: Bad play by Khabibulin, but the Oilers press on.

1st period, 19:02: GOAL! OILERS SCORE!

1st period, 18:15: "Die Gene, Die" a friend submits over MSN.

1st period, 16:52: Penner gets into a tussle in front of Garon, as the puck slides behind the goal line just after the whistle. Nobody cares.

1st period, 15:26: No Columbus shots on net yet? Wow. Oh, so much for Garon's save percentage at this point of the game.

1st period, 14:38: Columbus's best start of the season they tells us.

1st period, 14:12: Oilers back on the attack.

1st period, 12:33: Another big push in front of the Columbus net generates a scoring possibility. Still 1-0 Oilers.

1st period, 11:58: The announcers talking about having to "figure out" a right-handed goaltender. Uh, they already beat him a minute in.

1st period, 11:27: The Blue Jackets got their first shot on net.

1st period, 10:49: Penner tries to get cute, and saucer passes backwards to give the puck away.

1st period, 6:03: Lots of back and forth action while I was preparing the baked potatoes.

1st period, 4:43: Seeing a lot of good play from former Oilers. Except Raffi Torres. Lazy Mexicans.

1st period, 4:03: Mike Comrie is doing quite a bit, actually. When I heard they were forced to skate him because they couldn't get anybody in from Springfield, I was concerned they were leaving him on the 2nd line. I'd say a fourth line 4-minute game would have been appropriate.

1st period, 3:57 Huselius scores. 1-1 tie, and the Blue Jackets now lead in shots.

1st period, 2:51 Jackets penalty, so Oilers are on the powerplay.

1st period, 1:38: Sportsnet isn't saying how much time is left 4-on-4. No networks do this, and I don't know why not.

1st period, 0:23: Raffi scores, shutting me up. 2-1 lead for Columbus.

1st period, 0:00: Almost a fight, but Smid is walking off with the number of teeth he started with.

8:30pm: Back in action

2nd period, 19:40: 4-on-4 again to start the 2nd after the almost-fight at the end of the 1st.

2nd period, 19:22: Oh yeah, its the second period, which means that Columbus is over on the other side of the rink. I can stop my heart from collapsing now.

2nd period, 19:03: I'm not the only confused one: Quinn just called Khabibulin "Garon".

2nd period, 18:44: Oilers net is off the moorings but play continues because the rush goes towards Garon. I don't understand how they can justify that.

2nd period, 17:58: 3-1 Columbus now, as Huselius scores for the second time.

2nd period, 17:23: Chimera is continuing to hammer away at the Oilers net. The team is looking every bit as sick with the flu as we've been told. Horrible co-ordination.

2nd period, 17:09: 15-7 are the shots for Columbus. So much for the sound defensive play. Still 3-1, but could be 5-1 at this point.

2nd period, 16:08: McIntyre and crew got a good shot on net and then a scrum in front of the goalmouth. That's the best moment for the Oilers in almost 4 minutes of 2nd period play.

2nd period, 14:27: The desire to play is there on Cogs' line, but the tired legs of the Oiler players just aren't cooperating.

2nd period, 11:26: Chorney is very similar to the first word of the song Чёрные глаза which was a big hit in Europe a few years ago. The word means "black", and thats how I feel watching his defensive play so far in this game.

2nd period, 10:41: Cogliano and Moreau try a shorthanded 2-on-2 but are denied.

2nd period, 9:53: Big save by Khabibulin. The first time I've been able to type that in ages.

2nd period, 9:31: Dustin Penner fighting in front of Garon, almost puts the biscuit in the basket several times. Still 3-1 Columbus.

2nd period, 8:44: "Battle at the blueline" the announcers say. I was about to type that!

2nd period, 8:08: Great play in front of the net for the Oilers, but they don't connect. Chimera races back and the Blue Jackets score again. 4-1

2nd period, 7:51: Penner scores right away, and its 4-2 Oilers!

2nd period, 7:35: "The Oilers have cut the lead in half." Er, 4 - 1 = 3. 4 - 2 = 2. 2>(3/2)

2nd period, 2:31: Another day, another ineffective Oilers powerplay.

2nd period, 2:00: 37 seconds on the powerplay, Oilers pressing behind the net.

2nd period, 1:41: 17 seconds of 5-on-3, the Oilers almost scored with the penalty on and a 6-4 push.

2nd period, 1:05: Hemksy scores on the powerplay and its a 4-3 game for Columbus. Shutting me up again. Um, I'll guarantee you that Shawn Horcoff will never get a hat trick in an Oilers uniform. Prove me wrong this time!

2nd period, 0:52: "And the Oilers cut the lead down to one". This, I stress, is cutting it down by half.

9:06pm: The second intermission is underway. 4-3 for Columbus.

9:13pm: The Sportsnet bit here about goaltenders on pace for 70+ games in Canadian teams makes very little sense. Vancouver and Calgary are having trouble with this, but while Khabibulin has played 8 games and is "on pace" to play 73 tonight, Deslaurier is playing the weekend game so Bulin will be "on pace" then to play 65, and suddenly we're talking a huge difference. They of course say nothing about the Maple Leafs, where no goalie in their system is projected to play more than 19 games all year.

3rd period, 19:44: And we're underway again.

3rd period, 19:02: The Oilers haven't been having much OJ in the 2nd intermission. The team is looking sluggish starting off the 3rd, including Gagner who just fell down on his own volition.

3rd period, 17:25: Oilers almost get a goal. Most of the last 3-4 minutes they have been trying too hard just getting their stick on the puck rather than setting up any coherent plays or making sure the puck goes the direction that benefits the team.

3rd period, 16:41: Nilson smashes a BlueJacket off the puck in the middle of the ice.

3rd period, 16:00: Penner aim's for Garon's 5-hole but no dice.

3rd period, 15:42: Garbage-kov off to the penalty box.

3rd period, 15:40: Correction, Dorset is off for hitting Grebeshkov.

3rd period, 14:48: Oilers racing up the ice with 75 seconds left in the Oiler powerplay. Comrie is trying to be the playmaker all of a sudden, he must be feeling better.

3rd period, 14:03: Rick Nash with a shot on net after the Oilers cycled rather than shot.

3rd period, 13:56 GOAL! Oilers come back after the Nash play and slip the puck into the net. All tied at 4 as Penner scores again

3rd period, 13:40: The Oilers have broken the Blue Jackets' road-penalty kill virginity. Niiice.

3rd period, 12:02: There's a broken stick in the slot in front of the Columbus net. No idea who's.

3rd period, 9:47: The crowd is starting to realize that whenever Dustin Penner and his line are on the offensive in Columbus's zone they should stand on their feet and be ready to see something amazing.

3rd period, 9:16 Oilers re-take the lead! Vishnovsky rifles a shot past Garon (on Penner's line) to put Edmonton ahead for the first time since 3:57 of the 1st period.

3rd period, 7:52: Is Andrew Cogliano hurt? He has limped onto the bench but seems to only be drinking water, not racing to the training centre.

3rd period, 7:18: Smid blocks a shot from Nash that would have gone into the net.

3rd period, 7:01: Another save by Khabibulin to keep the score 5-4 for Edmonton.

3rd period, 6:06: Strudwick going to the box. Khabibulin almost let in a weak shot from the blue line, so he hit Chimera with his stick. The refs saw the hit but didn't see the guilty party.

3rd period, 5:45: A pass in the high slot hit a skate and got redirected a high speed towards the net. Khabibulin didn't see it, but the back boards did: the puck hit it as it went wide of the net.

3rd period, 5:04: Columbus can't keep the puck in the Oilers end.

3rd period, 4:35: I thought that puck had gone in, but luckily it hadn't. Still 5-4 Oilers.

3rd period, 4:20: "I think Khabibulin was the only one who knew he had it in his glove." Uh, the crowd sure did.

3rd period, 4:04: More tough battles in front of the Oilers net, but our goalie has come through. 5-4.

3rd period, 3:30: Columbus continues to press on. The Oilers need another 3 goals to avoid any 0:01 second miracles.

3rd period, 3:14: Raffi Torres is off to the penalty box. Don't elbow a guy in front of the ref, buddy!

3rd period, 2:24: Horcoff and Gagner try for a big push on net, but it doesn't work.

3rd period, 1:39: Oilers have less than 30 seconds left in the PP, and then its empty net time for Columbus.

3rd period, 1:04: Torres penalty over, and the Oilers are making a rush on the net.

3rd period, 1:03: Another elbowing ex-Oiler: Chimera is off to the box and the extra attacker may not come into play.

3rd period, 0:48: Garon out of the net, but the Oilers are still on the PP. 5-on-5 with an empty net?

3rd period, 0:17: The puck dribbles into the empty net. I told you so.

3rd period, 0:11: Robert Nilsson has got credit for the goal, though it was dumb luck.

3rd period, 0:00: A corner scrum ends this game, and Khabibulin pulls out another win.

10:04pm: Off to Sportsnet Connected. Penner is on pace for 62 goals this year. Oh, if only if only...

10:07pm: Sportsnet did more math: Oilers and Flames are tied for 1st in the NHL with goals-for with 36.

10:23pm: Okay, liveblog closed. Oilers are now tied with Calgary for 4th in the Western Conference, meaning Saturday's HNIC game will be insanely important.