Kent Johnson plays hero as Blue Jackets escape with OT win after blowing 3-0 lead

Tuesday, October 27, 2026
By Ed Francis
efrancis@cbussports.com

CBJ's Kent Johnson skates

Kent Johnson scored two goals for the Columbus Blue Jackets, including the game winner in overtime, against Philadelphia on Tuesday. Photo: Kevin Rouch

Not all wins have to be pretty.

Kent Johnson scored his second goal of the night 2:22 into overtime, lifting the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 4-3 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Johnson’s game-winner came on a 2-on-0 rush with Adam Fantilli, helping Columbus recover after surrendering a three-goal lead.

The Flyers had forced overtime with just 11 seconds remaining in regulation. After the Blue Jackets scored three goals in a three-minute span in the first period, Philadelphia got one back in the middle frame and then made it a one-goal game in the final five minutes before tying it in the waning seconds.

After outshooting Philadelphia 7-2 in the first period, the Blue Jackets were outshot by the Flyers 28-6 in the final 40 minutes of regulation, including 15-1 in the third period.

Noah Cates, Trevor Zegras, and Jamie Drysdale scored for the Flyers. Goaltender Dan Vladar finished with 11 saves on 15 shots.

Johnson finished with two goals and an assist for Columbus, while Fantilli added a goal of his own. Denton Mateychuk also scored, and Talbot stopped 28 shots in the victory.

Here’s how the night went from great to bad and then back to great in the City of Brotherly Love:

CBJ: 1, PHI: 0 (1ST PERIOD, 9:02 REMAINING)

The Blue Jackets get on the board first with fantastic puck movement between Fantilli and Johnson. With the action at four-on-four, Fantilli carries the puck into the Flyers’ zone before dropping it back to Johnson, who uses a stutter-step to create some space. Fantilli continues toward the net, slipping behind the Flyers’ defense, and Johnson finds him with a return pass. Fantilli fires a wrister that goes under the arm of Vladar and then off the post before settling in the net to make it 1-0 Columbus.

CBJ: 2, PHI: 0 (1ST PERIOD, 7:06 REMAINING)

The Blue Jackets double their lead less than two minutes after Fantilli’s opening goal. Columbus maintains possession in the Philadelphia zone, with Val Nichushkin moving the puck to Zach Werenski at the point. Werenski fires a one-timer toward the net, and Johnson gets his stick on the puck and redirects it past Vladar to put the Jackets up 2-0.

CBJ: 3, PHI: 0 (1ST PERIOD, 6:16 REMAINING)

Gritty work to keep the puck in the Flyers’ zone leads to a third Blue Jackets goal in less than three minutes. Charlie Coyle fights for the puck behind the Philadelphia net, allowing Knies to go get it in the corner. He slides it to Olivier, who makes a backhand pass to Mateychuk in the high slot. Mateychuk fires a snapper past Vladar, putting Columbus up 3-0.

CBJ: 3, PHI: 1 (2ND PERIOD, 10:01 REMAINING)

The Flyers get on the board midway through the second period on a goal Talbot would probably like back. Porter Martone fires a shot from the very high slot that squeezes through Talbot but doesn’t cross the goal line. Cates gets to the loose puck and taps it home for his first goal of the season, cutting Columbus’ lead to 3-1.

CBJ: 3, PHI: 2 (3RD PERIOD, 4:56 REMAINING)

The Flyers cut the deficit to one as Zegras gets Philadelphia back within striking distance with just under five minutes left in regulation. Zegras gets to a rebound in front of the net, putting the loose puck past Cam Talbot. It’s another goal off a second-chance opportunity for Philadelphia, this one making it a 3-2 game.

CBJ: 3, PHI: 3 (3RD PERIOD, 0:11 REMAINING)

Lead blown. With just 11 seconds to go and Vladar pulled for the extra attacker, the Flyers push the puck quickly into the zone. Tyson Foerster sends a centering pass toward Drysdale in front of the net, and the puck deflects off Drysdale’s skate and past Talbot, completing Philadelphia’s comeback and sending the game to overtime at 3-3.

CBJ: 4, PHI: 3 (OVERTIME, 2:38 REMAINING)

On their second 2-on-0 of overtime, the Blue Jackets connect this time. Fantilli and Johnson skate hard into the Flyers zone with no one to defend them. Fantilli slides the puck across to Johnson after an excellent fake shot that gets Vladar out of position, allowing Johnson to score his second goal of the game and help Columbus escape with a victory.

QUICK THOUGHTS: Johnson is the team MVP through the first ten games and it’s not close. The Blue Jackets simply don’t win this game without him, and the experiment with him on Columbus’ top line is paying huge dividends for a team that is somehow 5-5-0 on the season. With six goals and four assists so far, Johnson is playing at a point-a-game pace.

Still, it’s gotta be more than just him. The Blue Jackets only have one skater over the age of 24 with more than one goal: the 29-year-old Mathieu Olivier has two, and one of those is an empty-netter. Nichushkin, Coyle, Sean Monahan, Conor Garland, and Dmitri Voronkov have combined for just three goals in 47 total games. All are at least 26 years old and averaging over 11 minutes a night. The veterans need to produce if Columbus is to have any chance this season.

NEXT UP: Game two of the three-game road trip is a tough one: the Blue Jackets are in Raleigh, North Carolina, to face the Hurricanes on Thursday night. Puck-drop is set for 7:00 p.m.