EDMONTON, Alberta -- Rookie standout Connor McDavid did not disappoint.

In his highly anticipated return from a three-month injury absence, McDavid delivered a goal-of-the-year candidate and added two assists while leading the Edmonton Oilers to a 5-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.

"Our group also responded to him, which was a good sign," Oilers coach Todd McLellan said. "He was the catalyst, and every night you have to have a catalyst in order to have success."

Center Leon Draisaitl, defenseman Eric Gryba, left winger Benoit Pouliot and right winger Jordan Eberle added goals as the Oilers snapped a three-game losing streak and injected a little life into their stretch drive.

"I definitely didn't expect to do that, or play that type of game," said McDavid, who played 16:43 and won 57 percent of his faceoffs. "I was very happy with how I felt. The timing and all that felt pretty good."

McDavid, who had been out since Nov. 3 with a broken collarbone, made his presence felt on the first shift, using his speed to draw a penalty on defenseman Ryan Murray 26 seconds into the game. McDavid was dynamic on the ensuing power play, getting and setting up several chances.

"As you could see, he hasn't lost a step," Gryba said. "He has so much speed and vision and play-making ability through the middle. We need that. It's nice to have him back."

The only goal of the first period came against the flow, however, when winger Matt Calvert converted a two-on-one with Scott Hartnell to make it 1-0 for the Blue Jackets, who were being outshot 13-2 at the time. The first period ended 1-0, with the Oilers up 18-8 in terms of shots.

"They were all over us in the first, and we came out with a 1-0 lead. It was weird," Jackets left winger Nick Foligno said. "In the second, I thought we were playing some good hockey and they scored some untimely goals and got a couple of bounces and we were chasing the game. It just seemed like we couldn't find our offense. You have to score more than one goal, especially on the road."

The Oilers tied it three minutes into the second period when Gryba's seeing-eye shot from the point found mesh.

Then McDavid put his stamp on the game, splitting defensemen Jack Johnson and Justin Falk and then undressing goaltender Joonas Korpisalo with a goal that brought the fans to their feet for an instant standing ovation.

"I just head-manned it and watched him do his thing," Eberle said. "I probably had the best seat in the house, and it was incredible. I couldn't really believe it. Those are the things he's capable of."

It lit a fire under the Oilers, who made it 3-1 on Pouliot's power-play goal at 16:32 and 4-1 on a goal from Draisaitl just 29 seconds later.

McDavid set up Eberle's third-period marker.

"We played a better second period than we did in the first, but they scored four goals," Columbus coach John Tortorella said. "We had a couple of major breakdowns. We developed some offense in the second and third periods, but we made some key mistakes and they capitalized and it was game over."

Edmonton (20-26-5) snapped a three-game losing streak, while the Jackets (19-28-5) saw a two-game winning streak end.

"We were a little rusty, but both teams were coming off the same All-Star break and they had even more time off than we did," Columbus center Brandon Dubinsky said. "We can't use that as an excuse. We need to be ready to play from the drop of the puck."

NOTES: To make room for the return of C Connor McDavid, the Oilers assigned LW Rob Klinkhammer to AHL Bakersfield. ... D Justin Schultz (illness) missed Tuesday's game, creating an opening for newly acquired D Adam Clendening, who played his first game with the Oilers after being picked up on waivers during the All-Star break. ... Oilers D Brandon Davidson didn't play Tuesday, but he is fully recovered after leaving the last game before the All-Star break with a lower-body injury. ...Both of the Blue Jackets' starting goalies are still injured. Sergei Bobrovsky continues to wrestle with a recurring groin injury and Curtis McElhinney is skating again after hurting his ankle before the All-Star break. ... Columbus coach John Tortorella was back behind the bench after missing three games with broken ribs after colliding with Rene Bourque in practice. ... Blue Jackets D David Savard (strained oblique) is on the trip and skated on his own after practice Monday.