After splitting the Alberta leg of their Northwest road trip, the Jackets went into Vancouver looking to… checks notes sweep the Canucks in the season series? Here’s what happened.
First Period
The Canucks got the jump early, dominated throughout, and really had their way with the Blue Jackets throughout the entire first period. Teddy Blueger set the tone early, being left alone in the slot to bang at a chance. This was followed by no less than six near-miss chances throughout the rest of the period for the Canucks, who also had three separate stretches of at least 40 seconds in the Jackets zone. It’s a minor miracle the period ended 0-0; shots were as bad as 11-2 with a couple minutes left in the first, before finishing with an 11-4 tally.
Second Period
After a disastrous first, I was going to do a gimmick where each shot on goal unlocks one sentence in that period’s recap. It’s been done a dozen times on this blog, but it was worth bringing back after the mess that was the first 20 minutes of this game.
The Jackets had four shots on goal in the first. They had four goals in the second.
After continuing to get outplayed for a few minutes, Dmitri Voronkov took a high-sticking penalty. With how the Canucks played through the first 23.5 minutes, I for one thought a goal was inevitable. I was half right, as Texier became the fifth player in NHL history to score a shorthanded goal in back-to-back games.
BLUE JACKETS SHORT-HANDED GOAL – Alexandre Texier from Damon Severson – 4:30 2nd Period
Less than a minute after completing the kill, Texier would get on the scoresheet again, this time with an assist. After Justin Danforth collected a rebound, he got it to Tex behind the net, who in turn found Sean Kuraly in the slot. 2-0 Columbus. The two goals were their 6th and 7th shots of the game.
BLUE JACKETS GOAL – Sean Kuraly from Alexandre Texier and Justin Danforth – 6:14 2nd Period
After the 2-0 goal, Columbus kept up the pressure. They were rewarded with a powerplay, and it was actually pretty decent! However, after they killed it off, Vancouver would start to regain momentum. With about five minutes left in the second, Zach Werenski would get caught in a pinch, and Brock Boeser would beat Andrew Peeke to the net.
CANUCKS GOAL – Brock Boeser from JT Miller and Pius Suter – 15:20 2nd Period
Now, typically, this would be a backbreaking goal. Instead, the Jackets got some zone time, Jake Bean got the puck, walked in, and put the biscuit in the basket.
BLUE JACKETS GOAL – Jake Bean from Yegor Chinakhov – 17:27 2nd Period
Shortly after the goal, Columbus would go to the powerplay. Shortly after they went to the powerplay, Kirill Marchenko would tip a shot-pass from Johnny Gaudreau off Demko’s shoulder, the post, and in.
BLUE JACKETS POWERPLAY GOAL – Kirill Marchenko from Johnny Gaudreau and Zach Werenski – 18:24 2nd Period
Aside from a Damon Severson slashing call with 30 seconds left, an excellent period from the Blue Jackets. They’d need the kill to come up strong in the third to keep the momentum and the lead.
Third Period/Overtime
CANUCKS POWERPLAY GOAL – Elias Pettersson from JT Miller and Quinn Hughes – 1:11 3rd Period
CANUCKS POWERPLAY GOAL – Brock Boeser (2) from Pius Suter and Quinn Highes – 3:24 3rd Period
CANUCKS POWERPLAY GOAL – Brock Boeser (3) from Elias Petterrsson and JT Miller – 6:28 3rd Period
Well, shoot.
After approximately even play to get through the middle of the frame, Sean Kuraly and Justin Danforth were elbowed and boarded respectively in a three second span. As a result, Columbus was awarded a five-minute major powerplay with eight minutes to go, in a chance to salvage this game. Instead, in a season littered with pitiful powerplays, the Jackets put on their worst performance yet. One shot on goal. ONE. In five minutes.
Vancouver would win in overtime.
CANUCKS OVERTIME GOAL – Elias Petterrsson (2) from Brock Boeser and Quinn Hughes – 4:01 Overtime
Back at it tomorrow from Seattle. I’m going to bed.