Columbus Blue Jackets @ Vancouver Canucks: 1/27/24 Game Recap

The first period of this late game tonight was a fast frenzy. So fast, everyone forgot to score! Seriously though, with eleven shots from the Canucks and four from our hometown Blue Jackets, neither made it past a goalie. 

Period two, however, would tell a brand new tale for the visiting team. The first goal tonight would be number eight this season for Alexander Texier. He makes history with his second short-hand goal in as many games, something that's only happened for the team four times prior! This goal would kickstart a patriotic scoring wave at 4:30. At 6:14, a zinger from Sean Kurly would mark his fourth goal this season. Alexander Texier would give himself a 1-1-2 night in minutes with the primary assist, while the secondary would send Justin Danforth into double digits at ten. Brock Boeser would slice the Blue Jackets' lead in half at 15:20, but that would only last about two minutes. Next up to score would be Jake Bean, who banked in goal four of his season at 17:27. Yegor Chinakov would ender the double-digit assist club this season with number ten on this goal. A late-minute powerplay would also yield a goal for the Blue Jackets, giving them four in just twenty minutes! Kirill Marchenko would be the one to score this goal at 18:24. Johnny Gaudreau bumps up to twenty-three assists on this goal, while Zach Wereski hits twenty-six! So, it's an outstanding period of play, but also a nail bitter to hold that three-goal lead for the final thirty minutes.  

Cringeworthy, this third period saw the continuation of a Canucks' powerplay, and they'd get one past Elvis Merzlikins, thanks to Eilas Paattersson, at 1:11. Brock Boeser would then add two more at 3:24 and 6:28, giving him a hattrick. Let me make this clear, all three of these goals to equalize this game at 4-4 were on a Canucks' powerplay advantage. If it weren't for those penalties, this game wouldn't have gotten so far away from the Blue Jackets so fast. Even after Tyler Myers received a five-minute major on top of a ten-minute misconduct for drawing blood on Blue Jackets's Sean Kuraly (nose), the Blue Jackets couldn't find a go-ahead goal. So, you all know what that means: overtime!

The Blue Jackets would almost survive a shootout, but Eilis Pettersson would score at 4:00. So, the Blue Jackets get a point, but given what they could've had with a three-goal lead going into the final period...oh, that's rough. No lead is safe in the NHL, and this is a bitter way to learn, but this team still has some young players who will benefit from this. Honestly, even the veterans tonight could learn something, too. In any career, you always continue learning. 

At least the Blue Jackets won't have long to dwell on this as they take a flight to Seattle to take on a rested Kraken team tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. Yep, it's a back-to-back!

Go CBJ!