Elvis Merzlikins was the opening night starter for the Columbus Blue Jackets, but Daniil Tarasov became the number one goaltender just two and a half weeks into the season.

Tarasov is expected to start a fifth straight game when the Blue Jackets host the Edmonton Oilers on Monday night.

Merzlikins, who started 179 games for Columbus during his NHL career, injured his hand in the third game of the season on October 10. He returned to 100 percent, but Tarasov played too well to return to the bench.

Merzlikins said he was ready to support Tarasov every step of the way.

“It doesn’t matter who you are, how much you win or how many games you’ve played in this league,” Merzlikins said. “No one is guaranteed anything. You have to earn your place and work hard to get it. There are going to be bad times, bad nights, but we are all human. We are all going to make mistakes and we” We’re all going to shine, but we also have to find that consistency.”

Tarasov stopped 29 of 33 shots in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Nashville Predators on Saturday.

Columbus scored the first two goals of the game Saturday and entered the third period with a 2-1 lead.

“We weren’t impressed with the way we played when we had a two-goal lead,” Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said. “We constantly turned the puck over and gave them opportunities to get back to us. We have to manage the game a lot better than we did in those situations. The game should have been cleaner than it was was. “

Kirill Marchenko has nine points (four goals, five assists) in the first seven games of the season for Columbus.

The Oilers will play the second game of a back-to-back series after recording a 3-2 overtime victory against the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday. Edmonton is 4-1-1 in its last six games after losing its first three games of the season.

Evan Bouchard scored at 10:47 of the third period to tie the game at 2-2. Leon Draisaitl scored 18 seconds into overtime to cap his three-point performance (two goals, one assist) on his 29th birthday.

Draisaitl said he doesn’t have time to celebrate his birthday or his accomplishments.

“We play (Monday), so I’m just preparing for tomorrow,” he said.

Draisaitl scored his winner in overtime after converting a diagonal pass from Mattias Ekholm.

“Unbelievable pass,” Draisaitl said. “He’s such a special player. You just close your eyes and go in the back of the net.”

Stuart Skinner is expected to start in goal for the Oilers after Calvin Pickard made 25 saves in Sunday’s win over the Red Wings.

Skinner is coming off a shutout in his most recent outing on Friday, making 27 saves in a 4-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

He is 2-1-1 in four career starts against the Blue Jackets with a .923 save percentage and 2.24 goals-against average, both better than his career NHL averages of .908 and 2.71.