NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Rocco Grimaldi scored in the eighth round of the shootout, and the Nashville Predators beat the Blue Jackets 4-3 trying to push their way into the playoff picture.
Colton Sissons, Ryan Johansen and Mikael Granlund each scored, and Filip Forsberg had two assists for Nashville.
The Predators are a point behind Winnipeg for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference, with two games in hand on Winnipeg.
Pierre-Luc Dubois and Forsberg each scored to open the shoootout.
Gustav Nyquist scored in the fourth round for Columbus with Ryan keeping the shootout going until Grimaldi ended it.
Injuries to key players keep coming for the Blue Jackets. Now they’ve lost top goal-scorer Oliver Bjorkstrand for the rest of the season.
The team says the forward fractured an ankle in Thursday night’s loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. Bjorkstrand slid hard into the back boards at the end of regulation and limped off the ice. He did not play in overtime.
His is the latest in a string of injuries this season that sidelined All-Star defenseman Seth Jones, forward Cam Atkinson and goaltender Joonas Korpisalo.