ST. LOUIS — The Blue Jackets had exactly the start they wanted Saturday night.
Then the second period happened.
Columbus scored twice late in the opening period to build a 2-0 lead, surrendered three unanswered goals in the second, and eventually fell 5-3 to the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center.
Valeri Nichushkin opened the scoring with 3:50 remaining in the first period, finishing a play set up by Sean Monahan and Erik Gudbranson. Columbus then doubled the lead with only 12 seconds left when Kent Johnson scored his second goal of the season off assists from Adam Fantilli and Zach Werenski.
A 2-0 road lead heading into the first intermission looked like an ideal position for a team playing the second half of a back-to-back.
St. Louis erased it in less than 13 minutes.
Jake Neighbours got the Blues on the board at 6:10 of the second period before Jimmy Snuggerud took over. Snuggerud tied the game at 9:02 and scored again at 12:32, completing a three-goal St. Louis run and turning Columbus’ two-goal advantage into a 3-2 deficit.
The Blue Jackets did respond.
Cole Sillinger tied the game at 3-3 with 13:09 remaining in the third period, finishing after Charlie Coyle put a shot on Jordan Binnington. Carson Soucy also picked up an assist on the goal, giving Columbus a chance to escape with points despite the disastrous middle period.
Instead, St. Louis answered again.
Jonatan Berggren scored with 10:27 remaining to put the Blues back in front, 4-3. Columbus pushed for another equalizer but could not find one, and Pavel Buchnevich finished the game with an empty-net goal with 43 seconds remaining.
The loss drops the Blue Jackets to 2-2-0 and ends the momentum from Friday night’s shootout win over Pittsburgh.
There were encouraging stretches. Columbus came out strong, Johnson continued his productive start, and the Blue Jackets showed some resilience by tying the game after allowing three consecutive goals.
But Saturday was ultimately defined by the second period. A two-goal lead disappeared quickly, and Columbus spent the rest of the night trying to recover from it.
On the road, on the second night of a back-to-back, that proved to be too much.
What’s Next
The Blue Jackets return home Tuesday to face the Florida Panthers at Nationwide Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:15 p.m. ET.
