Monahan scores late winner, Blue Jackets edge Flyers

COLUMBUS -- Sean Monahan scored the go-ahead goal at 16:32 of the third period, and the Columbus Blue Jackets rallied in a 5-3 win against the Philadelphia Flyers at Nationwide Arena on Wednesday.

Monahan broke the tie to put the Blue Jackets ahead 4-3 after a cross-ice pass to the left post by Damon Severson allowed him to lift a wrist shot over the pad of Flyers goalie Dan Vladar.

“I think that it's a good sign for us,” Monahan said. “Obviously, putting the puck in that situation, it always feels good.

“You've got that feeling on the bench, when you're out there, that you're going to win games. So, it's a good feeling to have.”

Charlie Coyle and Mathieu Olivier each scored and had an assist, Zach Werenski and Cole Sillinger each had two assists, and Elvis Merzlikins made 24 saves for the Blue Jackets (25-20-7), who have won three straight games and seven of their past eight.

Coyle said Columbus remained confident even after blowing a 3-1 lead in the third period.

“It doesn't matter how you get to that point,” Coyle said. “It doesn't matter if we just score two goals or they score two on us, it’s a 3-3 hockey game, big game. Who wouldn't want to be in that position?”

Travis Konecny recorded his third career hat trick and Vladar made 26 saves for the Flyers (24-19-9) in his first game back in net since missing the past six with a lower-body injury.

“I don't think my reads were there at the beginning, but obviously it got better as the game went on. But, unfortunately, it wasn't enough from my side,” Vladar said.

Coyle scored 38 seconds into the first period to put Columbus ahead 1-0. He took a pass in the slot from Olivier and went backhand to forehand before slipping the puck past Vladar glove side with a wrist shot.

Coyle was honored in a pregame ceremony for playing 1,000 career NHL games (Jan. 22 vs. Dallas Stars), and has scored in six of his past eight.

Konecny tied it 1-1 on the Flyers' second shot of the game at 9:03, working into the slot area and getting a snap shot past the blocker of Merzlikins.

Kirill Marchenko lifted the Blue Jackets to a 2-1 lead at 19:40 during a 4-on-4. He got a snap shot off from the left side after getting the cross-ice pass from Werenski, who had won a puck battle at the right circle.

Erik Gudbranson made it 3-1 at 1:58 of the second period. Coyle won the draw to Sillinger, who passed to Gudbranson for a 59-foot slap shot. The score marks Gudbranson's first goal in 10 games played this season, with his last scored April 5, 2024, also against the Flyers.

Konecny was hit in the skate blocking a shot near the end of the second period and labored off before returning for the third.

“He took one off the foot,” Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said. “He's limping around. He might not play tomorrow (at the Boston Bruins), we don't know. He [had] a lot of guts tonight.”

Konecny returned for the third period and scored his second of the night with a wrist shot to cut it 3-2 at 4:08.

“Good teams find a way to win, and we found a way to win tonight,” Blue Jackets coach Rick Bowness said. “I think early in that third period, you give their goalie credit, some of those huge saves he made. So, we could have made that 4-1 very easily, but the goalie, that's his job to stop the puck, and he did.”

Konecny notched the hat trick to tie it 3-3 at 15:14. He redirected a backdoor pass from Travis Sanheim at the left circle and put it past Merzlikins, but the Blue Jackets responded on Monahan’s goal.

“We just shot ourselves in the foot a few times, and they capitalized on them,” Sanheim said. “We just weren't executing the way that we need to at this level, and it cost us.”

Olivier put a wrist shot into the empty net for the 5-3 final at 18:54.

NOTES: Blue Jackets defenseman Denton Mateychuk had two shots, two giveaways and one takeaway in 16:57 of ice time in his return from being out six games with an upper-body injury, and forward Miles Wood played 7:30 with two hits after missing 12 games with a lower-body injury. … Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen played two shifts totaling 1:01 before exiting with a lower-body injury at 2:20 of the first period. Tocchet did not have an update.