Emil Bemstrom scored the go-ahead goal on the power play with 1:37 remaining in regulation as the Columbus Blue Jackets rallied to defeat the visiting Vancouver Canucks 5-3 Sunday night.
Riley Nash, Zach Werenski and Kevin Stenlund each had a goal and an assist for the Blue Jackets, who scored four times in the final 7:21 to overcome a 3-1 deficit. Gustav Nyquist added an empty-netter with 11 seconds to go, and Ryan Murray had two assists.
Goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, making just his second start since a Dec. 29 knee injury that required surgery, stopped 36 shots. The Blue Jackets, who maintained the Eastern Conference's second and final wild-card playoff spot, snapped a two-game skid and won for just the second time in their past 12 games (2-5-5).
Elias Pettersson, the NHL's reigning Calder Trophy winner as rookie of the year, and J.T. Miller each had a goal and two assists for the Canucks, who suffered their third consecutive defeat. Bo Horvat scored the other Vancouver goal, and Louis Domingue, playing for the injured Jacob Markstrom, stopped 30 of 34 shots.
Trailing 3-1, Nash sparked the Blue Jackets with a goal at 12:39 of the third. Nash took a cross-ice pass from Murray at the bottom of the right faceoff circle and put a shot over a sprawling Domingue.
The Blue Jackets tied it on Werenski's power-play goal at 15:06, a wrist shot from the top of the right faceoff circle.
Bemstrom gave Columbus the lead by taking a pass from David Savard and moving to the top of the right faceoff circle before firing a shot that made it through a screen in front of the net.
Vancouver took a 2-0 lead in the opening 7:08.
Horvat scored on a power play just one minute into the game, and Pettersson tallied just more than six minutes later.
Stenlund pulled the Blue Jackets within a goal at 10:01 of the first.
Miller extended Vancouver's lead with a goal at 1:12 of the second.
--Field Level Media
Vancouver | Columbus | |
J.T. Miller 3 | Points | Riley Nash 2 |
J.T. Miller 1 | Goals | Riley Nash 1 |
J.T. Miller 2 | Assists | Ryan Murray 2 |
Bo Horvat 1 | Power Play Goals | Zach Werenski 1 |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Louis Domingue .882 | Save Percentage | Joonas Korpisalo .923 |
Louis Domingue 30 | Saves | Joonas Korpisalo 36 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Vancouver | 39 | 3 | 1-3 | 0-2 | 9 | 34 |
Columbus | 35 | 5 | 2-2 | 2-3 | 11 | 31 |