In Columbus, the Blue Jackets rallied for a 3-1 deficit to the Nashville Predators with a four-goal third period.
Nick Blankenburg snapped a 3-3 tie in the third to help the Jackets over the hump.
“I blacked out. It’s crazy,” Blankenburg said. “I don’t even remember (the goal). That one feels good.”
Johnny Gaudreau hit for a double for Columbus.
“We were pushing the whole second and third periods,” Gaudreau said. “We had a lot of opportunities to score. We kept with it, kept sticking with it and got rewarded in the third.
“It’s great to see us fight back the way we did. Obviously, [falling behind] something that needs to change. If it’s Game 15, 20 and we are still talking about it, that’s something to be a little concerned about.”
Elvis Merzlikins made 23 saves in the Columbus win.
“We’ve got to be more poised, more confident in our game, even when they’re bringing all that pressure,” Nashville’s Colton Sissons said. “We can make plays without a lot of time and space and just trusting each other. We just froze up under the pressure.”
Yakov Trenin and Tanner Jeannot each had a goal and two points in the loss.
“We played a loose game,” Predators coach John Hynes said. “We got up early in the game and then I think in the second period alone we gave up seven odd-man rushes – five [at] 5-on-5 and two on the power play. … If you want to play that type of game, odds are you’re going to lose.”
Ryan Johansen also scored for Nashville.
Jake Bean scored for the Blue Jackets, and Justin Danforth tied the game, 3-3, in the third period.
“We knew we were playing well after the second period,” Danforth said. “We stuck with it. We felt good going into third period. We weren’t panicking.”
Kevin Lankinen made 37 saves in the Nashville loss.
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