If there is any way to describe last night's Blue Jackets win in Philadelphia, it might have to be "frustrating". After storming out to a 3-0 lead and playing easily their most complete period of hockey so far this season, the Jackets took their foot off the gas and got shelled for 40 minutes.
The first period was electrifying.
One of our keys yesterday was making the Flyers chase the game. The Jackets did exactly that, with Kent Johnson and Adam Fantilli combining to score one of the prettier goals this team has gotten this season.
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— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) October 27, 2026
They were just getting started. Less than two minutes later, Johnson deflected a Zach Werenski point shot into the net to make it 2-0, after a strong forecheck from the top line. This is the way this team is built to play.
It took them only 50 seconds to score a nearly identical goal. A strong forecheck by the Charlie Coyle line led to time and space for Denton Mateychuk, who walked right down the slot and fired home his third goal of the season.
By the end of the first period, the Jackets were well in control. They led 3-0 and held a 7-2 shots advantage. They were playing low event hockey, with a strong forecheck and quick clears out of the defensive zone. Everything looked good.
The second and third periods were a disaster.
Then came the dreaded first intermission. The Jackets came out in the second period and honestly did not look bad for the first 10 or so minutes. They continued competing on pucks, and though they weren't generating a ton of shots on goal, the forecheck was still working and they were playing at the other end.
It all changed when Philadelphia got on the board. Noah Cates poked in a loose puck after Cam Talbot couldn't quite squeeze it down, and the building had life. The Flyers rallied around that, and continued to hound the Blue Jackets through the rest of the second and all of the third.
They cut the lead to one goal with just under 5 minutes remaining, then found the equalizer with 9 seconds to go; on a play that will drive the CBJ coaching staff absolutely insane. Look at how easy it is for Philadelphia to score this goal. That may be the softest coverage I've ever seen in a 6 on 5 situation.
To recap: once the Flyers scored that first goal, almost exactly halfway through the game; they out-shot the Blue Jackets 24-3 the rest of the way through regulation, outscoring them 3-0. That is nothing short of embarrassing, especially against one of the worst offensive teams in the NHL.
As regulation wound down, the Jackets were able to hang on and get a point, which was honestly remarkable. The Flyers nearly won this game in regulation, finding a scoring chance right at the horn. Think about that for a second: the Jackets had a 3-0 lead in this game, and had a two goal lead with 5 minutes to go-but had to hang on for a point.
Sounds a lot like last year's team. You know, the version that saw their head coach get fired halfway through the campaign. There were a lot of the same traits here. Flipping pucks to the neutral zone, poor dump-ins. Generally, they were playing not to lose, rather than playing to win.
Fortunately, Fantilli and Johnson combined to score the overtime winner, saving this team from the ultimate embarrassment and, likely, another public lashing from their head coach. Thank goodness for that.
It felt like they won the game thanks to their star power. We have not been able to say that many times in this team's existence, but they did just that. Imagine if they could utilize that star power while simultaneously playing a strong team game. Then, we might have something special. They will have plenty of tape from this game to work on getting there.
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