Blue Jackets Lose 5-4 In Overtime to Canucks After Another Third-Period Collapse

By Coby Maeir on January 28, 2024 at 1:02 am
Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Damon Severson (78) stick checks Vancouver Canucks forward Sam Lafferty (18) as goalie Elvis Merzlikins (90) makes a save in the second period at Rogers Arena.
Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports
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The Blue Jackets blew another three-goal third-period lead and lost 5-4 in overtime to the Canucks at Rogers Arena in Vancouver on Saturday. 

  1 2 3 OT F
BLUE JACKETS 0 4 0 0 4
VAN CANUCKS 0 1 3 1 5

1st Period

The Canucks dominated the first period of play with several chances highlighted by Teddy Blueger's point-blank shot that was stopped by Elvis Merzlikins at 1:31 and Brock Boeser's backhand attempt from the left doorstep at 9:39 that Merzlikins denied.

According to moneypuck.com, Merzlikins recorded 1.08 goals saved above expected in the first period.

The clubs were tied at zero with Vancouver outshooting Columbus 11-4.

2nd Period

The Blue Jackets had their best chance of the game to that point at 1:39 when Yegor Chinakhov missed the net from the slot.

Alexandre Texier scored his second short-handed goal in as many games and his eighth goal of the season at 4:30 with a sweet left-circle wrist shot to the far side past Thatcher Demko. 

Sean Kuraly scored his seventh goal of the year and doubled the Jackets' lead at 6:14 with a right-slot shot thanks to a nice feed from Texier below the goal line.

After Jack Roslovic got caught in the neutral zone, J.T. Miller found Brock Boeser for a tip-in on a two-on-one at 15:20.

Jake Bean posted his fourth goal of the season and doubled the Blue Jackets' lead at 17:27 after Chinakhov took the puck from Miller and found Bean, who walked right down the slot and scored. 

Kirill Marchenko gave the Blue Jackets a 4-1 lead with his 15th goal of the season on the power play at 18:24 when he deflected Johnny Gaudreau's pass in the slot past Demko.

Columbus led 4-1 after two periods while trailing 19-18 in shots on goal.

3rd Period

Elias Pettersson cut the lead to two with a power-play goal at 1:11 when he fired a right-circle wrist shot past Merzlikins, who was caught up with Ivan Provorov around the crease.

Boeser scored his second of the game on the power play at 3:24 when he deflected Quinn Hughes' point shot from the blue paint past Merzlikins.

The Canucks tied the game on the power play at 6:28 as Boeser completed his hat trick, dispatching a loose puck into the net. 

The teams were tied at four after the third period and headed to overtime against each other for the second time this season. Vancouver outshot Columbus 31-28 in regulation.

Overtime

The Canucks won in overtime at 4:01 after Boeser walked around Kent Johnson at the left circle and sent a cross-ice feed to Pettersson, who scored at the right doorstep.

With the loss, the Blue Jackets fell to 15-23-10.

Stats

  • Shots on Goal: CBJ 28-31 VAN
  • Face-off %: CBJ 35.7-64.3 VAN
  • Power play: CBJ 1/3-3/4 VAN
  • Giveaways: CBJ 5-8 VAN
  • Takeaways: CBJ 6-10 VAN
  • Blocked shots: CBJ 14-14 VAN
  • Hits: CBJ 20-23 VAN
  • 5-on-5 stats (via naturalstattrick.com):
    • Expected Goals (xG): CBJ 1.17-2.50 VAN
    • Shot Attempts (CF): CBJ 38-49 VAN
    • Shots on Goal (SF): CBJ 18-23 VAN
    • Scoring Chances (SCF): CBJ 16-26 VAN
    • High-Danger Chances (HDCF): CBJ 3-10 VAN

Injury Update

  • Patrik Laine is expected to miss six weeks with a clavicle fracture suffered on Dec. 14 and is on IR retroactive to Dec. 14. 
  • Adam Boqvist was placed on injured reserve retroactive to Jan. 25 with an upper-body injury and is out through at least the all-star break. 

Next Up

The Blue Jackets are back in action on Sunday in Seattle to face the Kraken at 9 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.

The club's final game before the all-star break is on Tuesday in St. Louis as the Jackets face the Blues at 8 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.

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