Blue Jackets' persistence pays off with shootout win over Canucks

Field Level Media|published: Mon 15th January, 16:14 2024

cJan 13, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Emil Bemstrom (52) celebrates with teammates on the bench after scoring a goal against the Seattle Kraken in the third period at Nationwide Arena. credits: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

Kirill Marchenko scored the only tally of a shootout as the Columbus Blue Jackets earned a 4-3 comeback win over the visiting Vancouver Canucks on Monday.

Dmitri Voronkov recorded his first career two-goal game, Johnny Gaudreau had two assists, and Yegor Chinakhov scored the Blue Jackets' other goal.

All three Columbus tallies were equalizers, as the Jackets delivered constant pressure in outshooting the first-place Canucks by a 44-30 margin, marking the Blue Jackets' second-highest shot total of the season.

Elvis Merzlikins stopped 27 of 30 shots to earn his eighth win in 24 starts.

The overtime loss snapped Vancouver's five-game winning streak, though the Canucks still posted an impressive 5-1-1 record over their seven-game road trip. The Canucks are 15-7-3 in away games and lead the NHL with 33 road points.

J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson each had a goal and an assist for Vancouver. Conor Garland scored the Canucks' other goal.

Casey DeSmith had a strong game in stopping 41 of 44 shots.

Miller opened the scoring with a deflected goal at 5:28 of the first period, but Columbus responded just 27 seconds later. Gaudreau made a nice pass from the corner out to Chinakhov, who converted for his 11th goal of the season.

A similar-looking goal restored Vancouver's lead 14:54 into the opening frame. This time it was Teddy Blueger who fought for possession in the corner, then made a canny pass in front and off Garland's stick for the one-timer.

The two teams exchanged power-play goals in the second period. At the 3:28 mark, Voronkov tipped in an Adam Boqvist shot to temporarily equalize the score.

Pettersson again put the Canucks ahead on a perfect snipe of a shot from the circle 7:35 into the second period. Named the NHL's First Star of the Week for January 8-14, Pettersson has 14 points (eight goals, six assists) over his last six games.

At 10:57 of the third period, a fight for possession behind Vancouver's net resulted in Voronkov tucking the puck inside the post. It was the ninth goal of Voronkov's rookie season, and his second multi-point NHL game.

—Field Level Media

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