Blue Jackets Show Grit, Rally Late to Top Flyers and Climb in East Standings
COLUMBUS, Ohio - For a team that’s made a habit of letting leads slip away, Wednesday night felt like a turning point for the Columbus Blue Jackets. They bent, sure - but this time, they didn’t break.
Despite coughing up a 3-1 lead in the third period, the Blue Jackets answered back in a big way. Sean Monahan delivered the go-ahead goal with just 3:28 left on the clock, and Columbus tacked on an empty-netter to seal a 5-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers in front of 15,244 fans at Nationwide Arena.
“Those are the goals you need in a long season,” defenseman Zach Werenski said postgame. “Just a huge moment for our group.
We definitely bent there and probably made it harder on ourselves than it had to be. But we found a way to get it back and win it in regulation.
That’s big.”
And it really was big - not just for morale, but for the standings. With the win, Columbus leapfrogged the Devils, Capitals, and Maple Leafs in the Eastern Conference, climbing from 14th to 11th. They’re now tied with the Flyers at 57 points, though Philly holds the tiebreaker with more regulation wins.
For a team that’s lost nine games this season after leading in the third period, this one felt like a much-needed course correction. And under Rick Bowness - who took over as head coach on Jan. 12 - the Blue Jackets are starting to show signs of a team figuring itself out. They’re now 6-1-0 since Bowness stepped behind the bench.
Wednesday’s win wasn’t perfect. But it was gritty, timely, and, most importantly, earned.
Monahan Steps Up When It Matters Most
After Flyers forward Travis Konecny completed his hat trick with a deflection goal that tied the game 3-3 with under five minutes to play, the air inside Nationwide Arena shifted. The groans were audible, and for a moment, it felt like another late-game meltdown was brewing.
But Bowness had a message for his team in that moment: move on.
“Get ready for your next shift,” he said. “Control what you can control.
You can’t do anything about that. Give them credit.
They made a couple of good plays. Just get ready for your next shift.
Put it behind you and let’s get back on our toes. We’re an aggressive team; we’re not sitting back.”
Two shifts later, that mindset paid off.
Damon Severson spotted Monahan near the crease and zipped a pass from the right circle. Monahan didn’t rush it. He waited just long enough for Flyers goalie Dan Vladar to lean forward, then lifted the puck over his right pad for the game-winner.
“(Vladar) kind of had me at the start,” Monahan said. “I just wanted him to fall forward a little bit, to be able to get the puck over him. He’s a good goalie, and I was just trying to get a read on his play.”
It was a veteran move from Monahan, who showed patience and poise under pressure - and it came not long after Vladar had robbed both Adam Fantilli and Boone Jenner with highlight-reel glove saves. The one on Fantilli even went to replay review to confirm the puck hadn’t crossed the line.
After seeing those saves, was Monahan glad to be shooting on Vladar’s stick side?
“After seeing those two saves, yeah,” he said with a grin.
Contributions Up and Down the Lineup
While Monahan got the spotlight for the game-winner, this was a full-team effort.
Mathieu Olivier and Charlie Coyle each had a goal and an assist. Coyle, who was honored before the game for reaching 1,000 NHL games last week, made his presence felt on both ends of the ice. Erik Gudbranson and Kirill Marchenko also lit the lamp, and Werenski and Cole Sillinger each chipped in with two assists.
Between the pipes, Elvis Merzlikins came up big when it mattered most. Ten of his 22 saves came in the third period, including several during a stretch where the Flyers gained momentum off three Columbus penalties. Konecny’s hat trick was the only blemish on Merzlikins’ night, but even that didn’t rattle the Blue Jackets down the stretch.
Olivier’s empty-netter with 1:06 to go sealed the deal and gave Columbus a two-goal cushion they wouldn’t need - but certainly welcomed.
Eyes on the Prize
Werenski, one of the team’s leaders, admitted he’s been keeping a close eye on the standings - maybe a little too close.
“I check it daily,” he said. “Even if it’s 2 in the afternoon and I already checked it, I’ll check it again, you know? I’m always looking at it.”
He’s not alone. The Blue Jackets know exactly where they stand, and more importantly, what’s at stake.
“We still have a great chance to do something special here,” Werenski said. “And it’s been exciting, we’re taking care of business, and that’s all we can do.”
And yes, in case you were wondering - Werenski had already checked the updated standings by the time he met with reporters.
“I did,” he said with a smile. “Yeah.”
The Takeaway
This wasn’t a perfect game by any stretch. The third-period penalties, the defensive lapses, the near-collapse - those are still concerns.
But this was also a game the Blue Jackets don’t win a month ago. Under Bowness, they’re starting to find their edge, and more importantly, they’re learning how to respond when things go sideways.
They’re not just playing better - they’re believing again.
And if they keep stringing together wins like this one, the rest of the Eastern Conference might want to start scoreboard watching, too.