The Blue Jackets still have a troubling habit of coughing up late leads, but they’re starting to find more ways to overcome them.
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It happened again Jan. 28 at Nationwide Arena, where a 3-1 lead to start the third period disappeared before Sean Monahan scored the winning goal for the Jackets with 3:28 left in a 5-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. Monahan scored 1:18 after Travis Konecny’s third goal of the game tied it 3-3 for his third NHL hat trick.
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Mathieu Olivier added an insurance goal into an empty net with 1:06 left for the Blue Jackets (25-20-7), who’ve caught the Flyers (24-19-9) and Washington Capitals at 57 points each in the Metropolitan Division standings.
Charlie Coyle, Kirill Marchenko, Erik Gudbranson scored the first three goals for the Blue Jackets, who got 21 saves from goalie Elvis Merzlikins. Coyle finished with two points on a goal and assist after receiving his silver stick for 1,000 games played during a pregame ceremony.
Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins (90) stops a shot during the second period of the NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers at Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Jan. 28, 2026.
Konecny handled the scoring for the Flyers despite playing the third period in pain after blocking a shot with a skate, including his second and third goals. The second cut the Jackets lead to 3-2 at 4:08, not long after Flyers goalie Dan Vladar (27 saves) made an outstanding glove save to keep Adam Fantilli from giving Columbus a 4-1 lead.
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The Blue Jackets led 2-1 after the first period on goals by Coyle and Marchenko. They led 3-1 starting the third after Gudbranson scored his first goal of the season on a blast from the right point 1:58 into the second.
Things started to unravel for the Jackets in the third, which has been a common sight. Vladar’s robbery of Fantilli’s shot 1:03 into the period kept the Flyers within reasonable striking distance and a second desperation glove save to deny Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner with 9:59 left provided another boost.
Monahan finally got one past him, though, giving the Blue Jackets a 4-3 lead and eventual win by getting a pinpoint feed from Damon Severson and lifting the puck over Vladar’s pad.
Columbus Blue Jackets center Kent Johnson (91) shoots past Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Jamie Drysdale (9) during the first period of the NHL hockey game at Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Jan. 28, 2026.
The Blue Jackets caught up with the Flyers and Washington Capitals in the Metropolitan Division at 57 points. All three trail the New York Islanders by six points for third place and the division’s final guaranteed ticket into the playoffs. The Blue Jackets are eight points back of the Boston Bruins for the Eastern Conference’s second of two wild-card spots.
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Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets overcome late collapse on Sean Monahan’s winner