Blue Jackets vs. Flyers: Kent Johnson's Overtime Winner Rescues Columbus After a Blown 3-0 Lead

Kent Johnson saw the stick lane before anyone else did. Two minutes into overtime, Flyers defenseman Cam York tried to drive the net, Johnson got a blade on the puck and poked it free, and suddenly he and Adam Fantilli were alone at the other end with nobody in orange anywhere close. Fantilli slid it over, Johnson buried it, and Columbus finally exhaled.

That goal at 2:22 of overtime gave the Columbus Blue Jackets a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena, and it rescued a night that had gone sideways in a hurry. Columbus led 3-0 after one period. Philadelphia then outshot the visitors 28-6 over the second and third, tied it with 11 seconds left in regulation, and very nearly completed the heist.

Three Goals in 2:46, Then Nothing

The first period was a Columbus highlight reel. With the teams playing 4-on-4 at 10:58, Fantilli finished a give-and-go with Johnson by tucking a wrister under Dan Vladar's arm. Less than two minutes later, at 12:54, Zach Werenski wound up from the point and Johnson got a piece of it in front for a 2-0 lead. Just 50 seconds after that, Denton Mateychuk found a lane through a crowd with a snapper along the ice, and it was 3-0.

Three goals in a 2:46 span. Game over, right? Not even close.

Columbus built that lead like a Jenga tower and then spent 40 minutes watching Philadelphia pull out pieces. The Flyers took over the second period, and Noah Cates got them on the board at 9:59. Porter Martone's shot got through Cam Talbot but not all the way, and Cates won the race to the blue paint to poke it in. It was his first goal of the season.

The third period was a siege. Philadelphia outshot Columbus 15-1 in the frame, according to NHL.com. Trevor Zegras made it 3-2 at 15:04, banking the puck in off Talbot. Then, with Vladar pulled for an extra attacker, Tyson Foerster sent the puck toward the front and it went in off Jamie Drysdale with 11 seconds remaining. Drysdale's first goal of the season tied the game 3-3.

The Turning Point: Johnson's Poke

Overtime opened with all the momentum wearing orange. Philadelphia had controlled play for two periods, and Columbus looked like a team hanging on for a point. Then York made his move toward the net, and Johnson read it.

"York was trying to crash the net on me, and just got a stick on it and poked it away, and then we're off to the races 2-on-0," Johnson said. "Great play by 'Fants' there, gave me the whole net."

That one defensive play flipped everything. One poke, one pass, one finish, and the two points were headed to Ohio. Johnson's snap shot was his sixth goal of the season and his second of the night.

The Stars of the Night

Johnson finished with two goals and an assist in just 14:41 of ice time, and NHL.com noted it was the third three-point game of his NHL career. He was involved in three of the four Columbus goals and made the defensive play that ended it.

Fantilli had a goal and an assist in 20:45, and he has now piled up seven points during a six-game point streak against Philadelphia. Werenski logged 28:09 and added two assists, including the primary helper on Johnson's first goal.

Talbot made 29 saves on 32 shots for a .906 save percentage, and he needed nearly every one of them over the final 40 minutes. At the other end, Vladar faced only 15 shots and stopped 11.

For Philadelphia, Zegras had a goal and an assist and has nine points during a five-game point streak. Drysdale logged 26:48 and has points in three straight games after going pointless in his first 11 games.

Werenski summed up the mixed feelings in the visiting room. "Obviously, we'd like to clean some stuff up from the second two periods tonight, but yeah, it feels good to win," he said. "We're a good hockey team in here, and we know it. It's just doing it for 60 minutes."

Blue Jackets coach Rick Bowness was blunter. "You take the foot off the gas in this League, and you're going to be on your heels, and we were," he said.

Stats That Matter

• 28-6: Philadelphia's shot advantage over the second and third periods.
• 32-15: The final shot count. Columbus won anyway.
• 2:46: The span in which Columbus scored all three of its first-period goals.
• 11: Seconds left in regulation when Drysdale tied it.
• 3: Points for Johnson, who scored twice and set up Fantilli.

What It Means

Columbus improves to 5-5-0 with 10 points. This was the first time all season the Blue Jackets have won back-to-back games, following Saturday's 2-1 overtime win over Vegas, and it was also their first road win of the season. NHL.com added that Columbus has now won six straight road games against the Flyers. The road trip continues Thursday in Carolina.

Philadelphia falls to 3-7-4, also with 10 points, and is 2-3-3 at home. The Flyers have collected points in four of their last five games after opening with a franchise-record nine-game winless streak, per the AP, so this was not a disaster. It still stung, especially after spotting Columbus a three-goal head start. "We've been chasing all year trying to play 60 minutes," coach Rick Tocchet said. The Flyers have no time to stew, either: they visit Washington on Wednesday.

A Point Is a Point, Sort Of

Tocchet found the silver lining and the problem in the same breath. "Moral victory, you get the point, obviously the second and third we dominated. Just that first period we weren't ready to play," he said. Columbus, meanwhile, got the full Jenga experience: a beautiful build, a terrifying wobble, and somehow the tower was still standing at the end.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details from the Associated Press; postgame quotes and notes as reported by NHL.com.