Blue Jackets Surge Early, Then Falter In 5-3 Loss To Blues

Saturday, October 10, 2026
By Ed Francis
efrancis@cbussports.com

CBJ's Sean Monahan in pregame skate

Sean Monahan played in his 900th game Saturday in the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-3 loss at St. Louis. He had the primary assist on the Blue Jackets’ first goal of the night. File photo

CBJ - St. Louis box score graphic

The Columbus Blue Jackets jumped out to an early, two-goal lead Saturday night but couldn’t hold on, falling 5-3 to the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center in the Blue Jackets’ first road contest of the season.

Columbus scored twice in the final four minutes of the opening period, including Val Nichushkin’s first with the Blue Jackets, but St. Louis responded with three unanswered goals in the second to take a 3-2 lead.

The Blue Jackets battled back to tie the game in the third on a goal by Cole Sillinger, but the Blues would answer again. This time, it was Jonatan Berggren who scored what would be the eventual game-winner with 10:27 remaining in the game.

Sean Monahan, playing in his 900th NHL game, was originally credited with Columbus’ first goal before it was later changed to Nichushkin. Still, Monahan picked up the primary assist in a milestone game for the veteran center.

Jet Greaves finished with 22 saves on 26 shots, while Blues goalie Jordan Binnington finished with 20 saves on 23 shots.

After the game, head coach Rick Bowness said the team made mental mistakes throughout the night that cost them.

“The thought process of how to play left us,” said Bowness. “The intensity necessary to play the game left us.”

Here’s how a 2-0 lead turned into a 5-3 loss for the Blue Jackets:

CBJ: 1, STL: 0 (1ST PERIOD, 3:50 REMAINING)

Nichushkin’s first goal as a Blue Jacket comes just seconds after Monahan wins a key faceoff in the offensive zone. As soon as he pushes it to defenseman Erik Gudbranson, Monahan skates into the slot. While he’s doing that, Gudbranson starts skating into the corner and draws the attention of two St. Louis defenders. That’s when Gudbranson makes a perfect backhand pass in front of the net. Monahan shoots and originally is credited with the goal, but it’s later changed to Nichushkin on a deflection. Either way, the goal gave Columbus a 1-0 lead in the closing minutes of the first.

CBJ: 2, STL: 0 (1ST PERIOD, 0:12 REMAINING)

The puck was in the offensive zone for just three seconds, but that was all the Blue Jackets needed to double their lead. Fantilli flips it ahead to a charging Johnson just as both enter the zone, and as soon as Johnson collects the puck, he fires it from the faceoff dot and beats Binnington for a 2-0 Columbus lead. A quick, efficient sequence that saw the Blue Jackets capitalize on their opportunity before St. Louis could get settled defensively, and in the closing seconds of the first period, it should’ve been a real tone-setter…

CBJ: 2, STL: 1 (2ND PERIOD, 13:50 REMAINING)

…alas, it was not. The first of three goals in the middle frame for St. Louis comes just over six minutes into the second period, with Neighbours cutting the Columbus lead to 2-1. Justin Barron shoots from a distance and while Greaves makes the initial save, he lets a rebound seep right into the slot. Neighbours wins a battle and puts it past Greaves to get the Blues on the board.

CBJ: 2, STL: 2 (2ND PERIOD, 10:58 REMAINING)

Less than three minutes later, the game is tied. Philip Broberg gets the puck near center ice and skates hard down the boards before charging toward the net around the goal line. He sees Snuggerud in front of the goal and flips the puck his direction, and it goes off the skates of Snuggerud and into the net to tie the game. It’s incidental, so the goal is good.

STL: 3, CBJ: 2 (2ND PERIOD, 7:28 REMAINING)

Snuggerud strikes again and the Blues take their first lead of the game. St. Louis captain Robert Thomas enters the zone through the middle and dishes off to Snuggerud, who is on his right. Snuggerud then skates up with the puck and fires from near the faceoff dot, beating Greaves stick side. That’s a save Greaves makes more often than not, but this one gets through for a 3-2 St. Louis lead.

CBJ: 3, STL: 3 (3RD PERIOD, 13:09 REMAINING)

Playing much better than they did in the second period, the Blue Jackets are able to tie the game at 3-3 with Sillinger’s second goal of the season. He’s waiting near the net and gets the rebound off a Charlie Coyle shot taken from an odd angle near the goal line, punching it past Binnington to knot it up. The secondary assist goes to Carson Soucy, which is his first point with Columbus.

STL: 4, CBJ: 3 (3RD PERIOD, 10:27 REMAINING)

The tie game lasts for less than three minutes before the Blues regain the lead — this time for good — on a goal by Jonatan Berggren. He’s initially tripped up in the neutral zone, leading to a delayed penalty against Columbus. With the extra skater on, the Blues work the puck behind the net and after Greaves is able to make an initial save on a shot from point-blank range by Mason McTavish, Berggren gets the rebound and slams it home to make it 4-3 St. Louis.

STL: 5, CBJ: 3 (3RD PERIOD, 0:42 REMAINING)

An empty-net goal ends the game. Pavel Buchnevich gets it for the Blues with 42 seconds left in the game.

QUICK THOUGHTS: It’s one thing to lose a road game against a team that probably won’t be much of a threat in the playoff picture, but it’s another thing to lose when you have a 2-0 lead nearing the middle portion of the second. This was a game where it was fairly evident just how much the Blue Jackets miss Kirill Marchenko as their No. 1 scoring threat. They have guys who can score, sure, but no clear-cut top option as they’ve had in the last few seasons with Marchenko. Between the pipes, Greaves looked a bit worse for wear. It could’ve been rust, as the young netminder hadn’t started in a week with the team off for five days and Cam Talbot getting the start Friday night. Still, there were a couple of juicy rebounds given up that led to goals for the Blues.

NEXT UP: It’s a rare puck-drop time Tuesday when the Blue Jackets return to Nationwide Arena. The game against the Florida Panthers has a 6:15 p.m. start time, as they’re in the early window of the NHL’s Frozen Frenzy on ESPN.