The Blue Jackets Overcame a 2-0 Deficit to Defeat the Canucks 4-3 in Overtime to Pick Up Their First Win of the Season

By Coby Maeir on October 18, 2022 at 9:50 pm
Justin Danforth
Russell LaBounty-USA TODAY Sports
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No longer winless.

Game Recap

Boone Jenner nearly opened the scoring on a two-on-zero break with Johnny Gaudreau. Jenner decided to shoot the puck and was denied by Vancouver goalie Spencer Martin.

Vancouver broke the scoreless tie on the penalty kill almost eight minutes into the game when Elias Pettersson found Bo Horvat at the right circle for a one-timer that finished off a two-on-one rush.

  1 2 3 F(OT)
BLUE JACKETS 0 1 2 4
CANUCKS 2 0 1 3

The Canucks doubled their lead with 8:49 left in the period when Pettersson finished off a rebound to the right of Elvis Merzlikins.

After taking exception to being hit from behind by Luke Schenn, Mathieu Olivier fought Schenn with 2:43 remaining. 

The Canucks took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission 

The second period proved to be much better for the Jackets.

Nick Blankenburg, who made his season debut, got the crowd going with a huge hit on Canucks forward Vasily Podkolzin.

After several chances, Columbus finally broke through with 4:18 left when Justin Danforth deflected a pass from Vladislav Gavrikov that was in the air to cut the lead in half. 

That was the only scoring in the middle frame as the Canucks took a 2-1 lead into the final period. 

The third period was a back-and-forth affair between the two winless teams.

Columbus opened the scoring when Zach Werenski found the back of a wide-open net from just above the left half of the goal line to tie the game with 13:42 in regulation.

Vancouver took the lead back just 42 seconds later after Horvat scored his second goal of the night right in front of the blue paint. 

The Canucks' lead didn't last long, though, as with 13 minutes in regulation, Gaudreau raced down the left wing, got Martin out of position, and scored a wrap-around goal.

Vancouver had a chance to take the lead back on the power play with 5:26 left but was unsuccessful in large part due to the play of Merzlikins, who made several key saves while his team was down a skater. 

Three periods were not enough to decide a winner as the teams headed to overtime tied at three.

Overtime was back-and-forth, as Pettersson hit the inside of the post on one end and the Jackets could not convert a 3-on-0 rush at the other end. 

Gavrikov was the hero tonight as he finished a one-timed pass from Yegor Chinakov at the right circle to secure the Jackets' first win of the season.

Stats

  • Shots on goal: CBJ 33-35 VAN
  • Hits: CBJ 13-17 VAN
  • Faceoff%: CBJ 62-38 VAN
  • Power plays: CBJ 0/2, VAN 0/3
  • Blocked shots: CBJ 16-14 VAN
  • Giveaways: CBJ 9-3 VAN
  • 5v5 stats (via naturalstattrick.com):
    • xG: CBJ 2.51-1.32 VAN
    • CF: CBJ 45-42 VAN
    • SF: CBJ 27-25 VAN
    • SCF: CBJ 21-12 VAN
    • HDCF: CBJ 11-7 VAN

Injury Update

Andrew Peeke left the game in the first period after taking a puck to the ear tonight. He returned at the beginning of the second period.

Patrik Laine skated and shot pucks by himself at practice today. "I don’t think he’s anywhere close to playing within the next couple of games,” Brad Larsen said. Laine is scheduled to return between November 3 and November 10. 

Next Up

The Jackets take on the Nashville Predators on Thursday and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. Both games are at Nationwide Arena, begin at 7 p.m. ET, and will be broadcast on Bally Sports Ohio and 97.1 FM The Fan.

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