Canucks Shake Off Slow Start, Defeat The Blue Jackets 5-2

Despite going down 2-0 in the first period, the Vancouver Canucks scored five straight, defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-2. Brock Boeser, Kiefer Sherwood, Jake DeBrusk and Pius Suter (2) scored the goals, while Kevin Lankinen stopped 30 of the 32 shots he faced. With the victory, the Canucks improve to 5-1-1 in their last seven while picking up their first win at home since November 16 against the Chicago Blackhawks.

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While Vancouver found a way to come back, their first period was problematic. The Canucks were outshot 17-2 and outscored 2-0. If not for Lankinen's strong play, this game could have easily gotten out of hand before the first intermission.

After the game, Rick Tocchet revealed that while he did visit the locker room after the first period, it was the players who spent the break trying to motivate each other. When asked about the first intermission, Tocchet said, "Huggy (Quinn Hughes) had it. They didn't need me to scream and yell; they had it. There is a time and a place for that, but I knew it right away. He was like, hey, we got it, so that's a good thing from our captain."

The motivational speech for the reigning Norris Trophy winner seems to have worked, as the Canucks outscore the Blue Jackets 5-0 the rest of the way. While Vancouver didn't generate a ton of offensive chances, they made the most of their opportunities, scoring five goals on 17 shots. They also found a way to frustrate Columbus, with multiple post-whistle scrums occurring over the final two periods.

One special moment from tonight's game was Boeser recording his 400th career point with the Canucks. Boeser finished the game with a goal and an assist, as well as three hits in 16:51 of ice time. When asked about hitting the milestone, Boeser said, "It means a lot. To do it with the guys in this room and the fan base. I've always said how much I love playing, so it's special."

Another storyline from the game was Thatcher Demko returning to the lineup. While he didn't play, having Demko on the bench was a massive boost to the entire team. When asked about Demko's return, Boeser said, "It's awesome. I was just so happy to walk into my stall and see Thatcher already in the stall. It's been a long and tough road for him, but just getting him back out there is awesome."

While there are still some areas that need to be fixed, the positives outweigh the negatives for Vancouver from this game. They went perfect on the penalty kill, cashed in on the power play and found a way to capture just their fourth win at home. With some tough opponents scheduled to visit Rogers Arena, the hope is the Canucks can build some momentum from this game and carry it into the rest of the six-game homestand.

Facts and Stats:

- Brock Boeser becomes the 15th player in Canucks history to record 400 regular season points

- Quinn Hughes joins Connor McDavid, Nikita Kucherov and Nathan MacKinnon as the only four players to record 100 assists since the start of the 2023-24 season

- Canucks improve to 6-4-1 when trailing after the first period

- Jake DeBrusk extends his goal streak to four straight games

Scoring Summary:

1st Period:

7:10- CBJ: Mathieu Olivier (8) from Cole Sillinger and Zachary Aston-Reese 
12:18- CBJ: Damon Severson (6) from Ivan Provorov and Kirill Marchenko

2nd Period:

3:52- VAN: Brock Boeser (7) from Quinn Hughes and Vincent Desharnais 
19:00- VAN: Kiefer Sherwood (7) from Teddy Blueger

3rd Period:

2:17- VAN: Pius Suter (10) from Conor Garland and Carson Soucy
10:22- VAN: Jake DeBrusk (12) from Quinn Hughes and Brock Boeser (PPG)
18:55- VAN: Pius Suter (11) from Elias Pettersson (ENG)

Up Next:

The Canucks are back in action on Sunday afternoon when they welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning to Rogers Arena. This will be the second time this season these two teams will meet, with Tampa Bay winning the first matchup 4-1. Game time is set for 1:00 pm PT.