Trailing the Nashville Predators after two periods of a grinding, gritty game March 3 at Nationwide Arena, the Blue Jackets needed to change the grade of sandpaper in their approach.
More: Columbus Blue Jackets get ‘greasy’ to nip Nashville Predators
After failing to get much done in the fine range for two periods, shifting to course was the only way that coach Rick Bowness could see them overcoming a 2-1 deficit against the Predators, whose desire to chase a playoff spot in the Western Conference mirrored the Jackets’ in the East.
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NHL highlights of Columbus Blue Jackets, Nashville Predators game
The Columbus Blue Jackets and Nashville Predators warm up prior to the NHL hockey game at Nationwide Arena in Columbus on March 3, 2026.
So, with a stiffened resolve, the Blue Jackets pulled out a 3-2 victory on two hard-nosed, hard-fought goals by centers Sean Monahan and Charlie Coyle.
Monahan’s second short-handed goal in as many days tied it 2-2. Coyle gave the Jackets a 3-2 lead at 6:07 after Damon Severson’s shot hit him in front of the net, and the rest of their night was a defensive grind. That’s how you get to the playoffs, in which most games are won or lost that way.
Rather than coughing up a late lead, which the Blue Jackets have done far too much this season, they hung onto it with impressive grit. Extra coarse.
“It certainly wasn’t a Picasso out there tonight,” Bowness said. “You had two tired teams. It was obvious. They got both of their goals by just putting it to the net and slashing it in. We were encouraging our forwards, and we did a much better job in the third period, overall, to get into the (blue) paint. Get in there.”
Blue Jackets center Adam Fantilli celebrates a goal against the Predators on March 3.
Coyle got the message.
He has done it for his entire NHL career as a two-way center, now at 1,010 games. He has come up huge for the Blue Jackets numerous times during his first in Columbus, and it seems unlikely that Blue Jackets president/general manager Don Waddell will spin him off as a pending free agent before the NHL’s trade deadline arrives at 3 p.m. March 6.
The same applies to pending free agents Mason Marchment, Boone Jenner and Erik Gudbranson, who all play key roles in the Jackets’ grittiness along with Monahan, Ivan Provorov, Cole Sillinger and others.
Sillinger’s resolve was key against the Predators, logging nine of his 21 shifts after Bowness shortened his forward rotation in the third period. Already playing his fifth NHL season at age 22, Sillinger received the Jackets’ post-victory donkey hat award from Kirill Marchenko for being a ceaseless hard worker who logged a memorable 1:31 shift to preserve the lead in the third.
Blue Jackets center Cole Sillinger shoots past Nashville Predators defenseman Nick Blankenburg on March 3.
After his stick broke while blocking a slap shot, Sillinger did everything he could to prevent a goal with his stick on the ice. He mirrored Nashville’s star defenseman, Roman Josi, took away shooting lanes and even checked Josi to the ice before pushing him out of the Blue Jackets’ zone as the crowd roared its approval.
Legs burning, Sillinger continued defending without a stick until the puck finally was chipped out toward the benches. Rather than hopping over the boards for a breather, Sillinger was handed a new stick at the bench and scooped up the puck for a soio charge into the Predators’ zone.
The sequence ended after he whizzed a backhand over the crossbar, making him an example of the elbow grease Bowness wanted to see in the third period. That type of effort ran up and down the Blue Jackets’ lineup, helping them pick up another two points to stay in the thick of a tight playoff hunt.
Blue Jackets right wing Mathieu Olivier hits Predators defenseman Nicolas Hague on March 3.
Impressive effort. Impressive victory, especially while star defenseman Zach Werenski (illness) missed his second straight game and captain Boone Jenner out with a lower-body injury.
“We trust each other,” Severson said. “We’re confident in one another. We’re clearly down our best player on the back end (Werenski) for two games in a row now, and we got it done, and then obviously (we lose) the captain (Jenner). It just goes to show that we’re going to do what’s necessary.”
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’ grit stokes playoff hopes in back-to-back sweep