VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Alex Edler scored 1:21 into overtime to give the Vancouver Canucks a wild 5-4 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.
Edler picked up a loose puck in the Blue Jackets’ end, waited patiently, then beat Columbus goalie Joonas Korpisalo with a shot to the far side.
Jussi Jokinen had a goal and two assists against his former team, and Darren Archibald, Bo Horvat and Nikolay Goldobin also scored for the Canucks, who tied a season-high with their fourth straight win and fifth in six games after a seven-game skid. Thatcher Demko stopped 26 shots in his first NHL start.
Seth Jones had a goal and three assists, and Pierre-Luc Dubois, Zach Werenski and Cam Atkinson also scored for Columbus. Artemi Panari had four assists and Korpisalo finished with 24 saves for the Blue Jackets, who are 12-1-1 in their last 14 games as they try to pass Pittsburgh for second place in the Metropolitan Division.
The Blue Jackets erased a 4-1 deficit by scoring three goals in 2:37 to tie the game.
Dubois started the comeback with a power-play goal with just under four minites remaining, Werenski pulled Columbus within one with 1:37 left and Atkinson tied it 16 seconds later.
Jokinen gave Vancouver a 3-1 lead at 5:14 of the third period. He took Jake Virtanen’s pass from behind the net and sent a shot over Korpisalo’s blocker. It was Jokinen’s third goal since coming to Vancouver along with center Tyler Motte at the trade deadline in a deal that sent Thomas Vanek to Columbus.
Jokinen also assisted on Horvat’s goal later in the period, giving him five assists and eight points in 11 games with the Canucks.
Demko, picked 36th overall in the 2014 draft, was called up from Utica of the AHL because backup goalie Anders Nilsson has the flu. He looked tight early in the game. Just 19 seconds into the first period Atkinson blasted a shot that hit the crossbar behind him. By the second period, Demko seemed more relaxed and looked sharp getting a pad on Atkinson’s shot during a 3-on-one Columbus breakaway.
The Canucks scored goals 1:44 apart in the second period to take a 2-1 lead.
Archibald tied it at 11:53. His shot from the faceoff circle looked to be tipped by a Columbus defenseman. Korpisalo still managed to get a piece of the puck but it went off his glove and into the net. Ashton Saunter, another callup from Utica, earned an assist for his first NHL point.
Goldobin put Vancouver ahead on a pretty give-and-go with Jokinen, scoring his sixth of the season on a sharp-angle shot.
The Blue Jackets opened the scoring at 13:55 of the first period, just seven seconds after Daniel Sedin was called for tripping. Jones scored after taking a pass from Atkinson and ripping a shot from the blue line. Demko looked slow at moving across his crease on the play.
NOTES: Jones’ two-point night gave him 54 points, setting a Columbus record for a defenseman. … Blue Jacket D Markus Nutivaara left the game in the second period with an upper-body injury. … Sedin’s 54 penalty minutes is the most in his 17-year career with the Canucks. He had 50 minutes in 2007-08. … The last time Vancouver won four consecutive games was Oct. 20-26.
UP NEXT
Blue Jackets: Host Detroit on Tuesday night.
Canucks: Host Vegas on Tuesday night.
