Johnny Gaudreau had two goals as part of a huge third-period comeback for the Columbus Blue Jackets, who twice rallied from two goals down to beat the visiting Nashville Predators 5-3 on Thursday.
Columbus trailed 3-1 after 40 minutes, but took control during a dominant third period. The Blue Jackets scored four goals while outshooting Nashville by a 17-8 margin during the final frame.
Nick Blankenburg had a goal and an assist for the Jackets, while Yegor Chinakhov had two assists. Jake Bean and Justin Danforth also scored for Columbus.
Yakov Trenin and Tanner Jeannot had a goal and an assist for the Predators. Colton Sissons contributed two assists and Ryan Johansen scored Nashville’s other goal.
After winning their first two games of the season, the Predators are 0-3-1 in their last four contests. It was the second straight game that Nashville surrendered a two-goal lead in the third period, following Tuesday’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Los Angeles Kings.
The Blue Jackets, meanwhile, enjoyed their second consecutive comeback win. Columbus also trailed by a two-goal margin on Tuesday against the Vancouver Canucks before recovering for a 4-3 overtime victory.
Gaudreau set the tone for the third period with a goal just 38 seconds after intermission, and then sealed the game with an empty-net tally in the final minute.
Gaudreau is off to a tremendous start in his first season in Columbus, recording six points (four goals, two assists) in his first five games.
Blankenburg set up Gaudreau’s first goal with a perfect cross-ice pass after starting the play with a takeaway in the Jackets’ end of the ice. At the 18:37 mark of the third period, Blankenburg broke a 3-3 tie with a shot from the circle. Danforth scored in between those two, at 12:07 in the third.
Elvis Merzlikins stopped 23 of 26 shots to earn his second win of the season.
Predators goalie Kevin Lankinen stopped 37 of 41 shots, playing well in his attempt to halt the Blue Jackets’ surging offense.
Nashville was 0-for-5 on the power play and has scored just one goal in 26 power-play attempts this season.
–Field Level Media
