Blue Jackets rally in 3rd period to get past Predators

COLUMBUS -- The Columbus Blue Jackets rallied with two goals in the third period to defeat the Nashville Predators 3-2 at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday.

Charlie Coyle made it 3-2 at 6:07 when Damon Severson’s shot from the right point deflected in off of him.

“They had scored two greasy goals, and we needed to score some greasy goals,” Blue Jackets coach Rick Bowness said. “Give Charlie credit, because you've got to get to the net. It certainly wasn't a Picasso third tonight.”

Sean Monahan had tied it 2-2 for Columbus with a short-handed goal at 1:52, scoring from the high slot with bodies in front of Nashville goalie Justus Annunen. It was his second short-handed goal in as many games.

“It's a huge momentum swing,” Coyle said. “Then what we do from there on out the next shift. The next couple of shifts determines which way we're going to go. And for the most part, we did a pretty good job of following each other shift after shift, of doing the right things and playing the right way and we get a great result from it.”

Adam Fantilli also scored for the Blue Jackets (31-21-8), who have won two straight and nine of 11 (9-1-1).

Columbus goalie Jet Greaves left at 7:46 of the first period after being bumped in the head by the shoulder of Nashville defenseman Nick Blankenburg. Elvis Merzlikins made two saves in 8:16 of relief before Greaves returned from concussion protocol. Greaves made 21 saves.

“I got bumped a little bit there,” Greaves said. “I'm just a little bit banged up on the play, but obviously the spotters pulled me out but I was happy to be able to get back in there. And Elvis did a great job coming in, made some big saves for us. So that was awesome.”

Filip Forsberg and Ryan O'Reilly scored, and Annunen made 24 saves for the Predators (27-26-8), who have lost three straight and five of six (1-3-2).

During the game, the Predators traded forward Michael McCarron to the Minnesota Wild for a second-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft. McCarron was held out of the lineup Tuesday for roster management purposes.

Nashville forward Cole Smith’s lone shift lasted three seconds midway through the first period, and after the game he was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights for defenseman Christoffer Sedoff and a third-round pick in the 2028 draft.

“It was a tough day for a lot of people today,” Predators coach Andrew Brunette said. “We're going to miss two great people, two big parts of our culture, what they bring every day. You know, they're wonderful people. They're kind of like family, being around them for three years. So, sad to see them go. Same time, hoping for the best.

“They're going to go to places that have a good opportunity to have a long run, further their careers, but we're going to miss them. It's a sad day here today.”

Both teams played Monday; the Predators lost 4-2 to the Detroit Red Wings, and the Blue Jackets won 5-4 in overtime at the New York Rangers.

“It was kind of not a pretty game,” Nashville captain Roman Josi said. “It was kind of sloppy on both sides, I'd say, a little bit. It was, both sides, a lot of weird goals.”

Fantilli made it 1-0 at 14:23 of the first period with a one-timer from the left circle after a cross-ice pass by Kirill Marchenko. Fantilli has a four-game goal streak and seven points (three assists) in a five-game point streak.

Nashville tied it 1-1 on a power-play goal by Forsberg at 19:32 when he stuffed the puck inside the left post.

O’Reilly was credited with the goal that made it 2-1 at 14:39 of the second period. He was the last Predators player to touch the puck before it went in off Greaves after Blue Jackets defenseman Ivan Provorov tried to clear it off the line.

O’Reilly left the game at 10:06 of the third after he was hit in the face with the butt end of Coyle’s stick following a face-off. Brunette did not have an update on him.

Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski missed his second straight game due to illness, and center Boone Jenner also did not play. He is day to day for maintenance reasons.

NOTES: Monahan became the second player in Blue Jackets history to score a short-handed goal in consecutive days. The other was R.J. Umberger on Oct. 15-16, 2010. … Forsberg (27 goals, 23 assists) reached 50 points for a ninth season, the most in Predators history.