Forward scores at 14:15, O'Connor has goal, assist for Vancouver; Columbus loses 3rd in row
CBJ at VAN | Recap
VANCOUVER — Brock Boeser scored the go-ahead goal on a partial breakaway at 14:15 of the third period, and the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 at Rogers Arena on Saturday.
Boeser knocked down a cross-ice stretch pass from Kiefer Sherwood at the Columbus blue line and fired a wrist shot from inside the right face-off dot that bounced off the glove and then the shoulder of goalie Elvis Merzlikins before going into the net.
“It was nice to see Brock get one,” said Canucks forward Jake DeBrusk, who also scored. “We needed it. … That’s huge, the timing of it and everything. That’s what he can do. He’s pretty clutch.”
Columbus coach Dean Evason was less thrilled to see Boeser behind his defense.
“When we’ve got an even hockey game at that stage, there’s no chance anyone should be getting in behind us for any type of a breakaway,” Evason said. “We’ll have to talk to some individuals and figure out what we’re thinking in that situation, if we are thinking.”
CBJ@VAN: Boeser whips in a wrister, putting the Canucks on top
Drew O'Connor had a goal and assist, and Kevin Lankinen made 29 saves for the Canucks (8-8-0), who have alternated wins and losses for their past eight games.
Vancouver can win consecutive games for the first time since Oct. 17 and 19 against the visiting Colorado Avalanche on Sunday. Colorado defeated the Edmonton Oilers 9-1 on Saturday and leads the NHL with a 9-1-5 record and 23 points.
“We need to build on this, and obviously, really tough task, probably a top team in the League, and for good reason,” DeBrusk said. “So, we’re going to need to bring our best.”
Kirill Marchenko had two goals and an assist, and Dmitri Voronkov had a goal and two assists for the Blue Jackets (7-7-0), who have lost the first three games of a five-game road trip. Merzlikins made 21 saves.
“They came up huge for us with those goals and putting us ahead and it just felt like it was coming for us, and especially for them, but for us as a whole, it was there,” Columbus forward Charlie Coyle said of the top line with Marchenko and Voronkov. “It was there for us and those are the games you need that you can’t afford to let slip. We need to take advantage of those.”
DeBrusk put the Canucks ahead 1-0 at 5:28 of the first period on a breakaway from the top of the left face-off circle after O’Connor spotted him unchecked with a pass from the right half boards. DeBrusk took the pass off his skate and cut left on his backhand before chipping a forehand shot back the other way over Merzlikins’ glove.
It was DeBrusk’s fourth goal of the season but first at even strength.
Marchenko tied it 1-1 at 6:46, snapping a rebound of Voronkov’s rush shot off Lankinen’s right pad into an open net as it was being knocked off by defenseman Tyler Myers.
CBJ@VAN: Marchenko cleans up in front to even the score
Voronkov put the Blue Jackets ahead 2-1 at 13:02 just 62 seconds after Columbus killed off a five-minute major penalty. He knocked in a loose puck under Lankinen’s pads after Marchenko chipped it up and off the post from the side of the net and it bounced into the crease.
O’Connor tied it 2-2 at 19:03, snapping a shot under the blocker arm of Merzlikins from the edge of the crease after a rising Quinn Hughes wrist shot created a scramble in front.
Conor Garland gave the Canucks a 3-2 lead at 6:17 of the third period, chipping a rebound over the pad of Merzlikins in tight. Myers came off the bench, took a drop pass at the blue line from Elias Pettersson, deked around Adam Fantilli and cut into the low slot for a backhand shot through traffic.
“Nice,” Garland said of Myers’ moves. “He has a lot of ability.”
So does Marchenko, who scored at 9:47 to tie it 3-3 when he one-timed a pass from Voronkov under the glove of Lankinen from the top of the left face-off circle. Marchenko has nine points (three goals, six assists) during a seven-game point streak that matches the longest of his career which he set last season (Dec. 14-27).
“Marchenko and Voronkov, they just look for each other out there,” Blue Jackets defenseman Damon Severson said. “You can see they feed off each other. … It’s elite, for sure.”
Evason was more upset about how easily the Canucks scored.
“It’s a tough one because for the most part we played well, but the goals that we gave them, three are turnovers, and one is a crucial part of the hockey game where we allow people to get in behind us for a semi-breakaway,” Evason said. “It just it can’t happen. We can’t continually give those types of goals away where we’re not making teams earn them as much as we should be and consequently we’ve lost three in a row now.”
NOTES: Columbus forward Sean Monahan, who normally plays on the top line, finished minus-2 in 20:01 of ice time on the second line after leaving with an undisclosed injury 4:45 into the third period of a 5-1 loss at the Calgary Flames on Wednesday. … Blue Jackets defenseman Denton Mateychuk was plus-2 with one assist in 22:23 of ice time after missing the game in Calgary because he was “banged up” during a 3-2 loss at the New York Islanders on Sunday. … Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko did not dress against Columbus after missing practice Friday for “preventative maintenance” but skated on his own Saturday and is a possibility to play against Colorado on Sunday.
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