NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Columbus Blue Jackets’ quarter-century history in Nashville is sadder than most of the country tunes that emanate from the bars and honkytonks that line Broadway, just a few feet away from Bridgestone Arena.
Saturday’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Nashville Predators was actually one of the Blue Jackets’ better efforts in Music City, and they flew back home in the overnight hours with a well-earned point. They led 2-0 and 3-2, and did well to survive a wild, back-and-forth start to the third period.
Nashville’s Jonathan Marchessault, who played for the Blue Jackets organization (mostly in the minor leagues) more than a decade ago, scored the game-winner at 1:44 of overtime to end it.
MARCHESSAULT WINS IT! 🙌
The @PredsNHL pick up their third straight victory thanks to Jonathan Marchessault’s @Energizer overtime winner! pic.twitter.com/9IEhNqt0Qy
— NHL (@NHL) October 27, 2024
It marked the ninth straight loss (0-7-2) for the Blue Jackets in Nashville, dating to March 30, 2019. Since joining the NHL in 2000, Columbus is 9-36-8 on the road against the Predators, including a 17-game losing streak (0-12-5) during a five-season span that ended in 2010-11.
Kirill Marchenko, Zach Aston-Reese and Zach Werenski scored for the Blue Jackets, while goaltender Daniil Tarasov, making his fourth consecutive start, made 29 saves.
“We definitely played well enough to win,” Werenski said, “but we’ll take the one (point) and learn from it.”
By all accounts, the Blue Jackets’ first period was sloppy. But the biggest lesson, according to coach Dean Evason, is how the Blue Jackets played with a two-goal lead after scoring two quick goals at 3:53 (Marchenko) and 6:42 (Aston-Reese) in the second period.
“We were impressed (with how we held it together early in the third),” Evason said. “But we were unimpressed with how we played when we had a two-goal lead (in the second period). We turned the puck over constantly and gave them an opportunity to come back at us.
“We have to manage the game a hell of a lot better than we did in those situations. The game should have been cleaner than it was. It wasn’t clean here tonight.”
The Predators didn’t cut into the Blue Jackets’ lead until midway through the second period, when Filip Forsberg, who had 13 shot attempts, finally broke through with a wrister from the right circle off the rush.
The lead was gone only 26 seconds into the third when Nashville’s Cole Smith scored, but the Jackets made it 3-2 just 2 1/2 minutes later on Werenski’s third goal of the season.
“It would have been good to play with that lead a little bit,” Werenski said.
But that lead was gone only 1:02 later, when Nashville’s Alexandre Carrier scored at 4:07 to tie it.
“We liked how we played for a lot of the game,” Evason said. “When we didn’t turn it over, we were a pretty good hockey team. When we did turn it over, we were pretty average.”
Adam Fantilli, who led the Blue Jackets with six shots on goal, had the Blue Jackets’ best scoring chance in overtime, a wrister from 25 feet that Predators No. 2 goaltender Scott Wedgewood denied, the last of his 25 saves in the game.
Only 44 seconds later, the game was finished.
Marchessault had the puck along the wall beside the right circle, skating it higher in the zone as Severson skated beside him. When Marchessault threw on the brakes, and cut back down low, Severson twisted and fell to the ice, leaving one of the NHL’s top goal-scorers in recent seasons all alone.
Tarasov didn’t have much of a chance.
Marchessault was all alone in the low slot — Blue Jackets winger Yegor Chinakhov was caught between trying to defend Marchessault and wanting to take away his passing lane to Brady Skjei — when he fired a wrister over Tarasov’s right pad.
It was a rough night for Severson, who was minus-3 and tied for the team lead in turnovers (three) with Werenski.
(Photo: Casey Gower / Imagn Images)
