Horvat rallies Canucks past Blue Jackets 4-3 for 5th in row
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Bo Horvat scored twice and the Vancouver Canucks rallied from three goals down to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 on Tuesday night for their fifth straight victory since Bruce Boudreau took over as coach.
Horvat buried his second of the game on a power play with 58.8 seconds left to put Vancouver ahead. Elias Pettersson and Vasily Podkolzin also scored for the Canucks (13-15-2), and Quinn Hughes had three assists.
Eric Robinson had two goals for the Blue Jackets (14-12-1), who also got a goal from Max Domi and two assists from Alexandre Texier.
Jaroslav Halak stopped 21 shots for Vancouver in his first start since Nov. 28.
Elvis Merzlikins made 35 saves for Columbus.
Vancouver went down to two defenseman midway through the first period after Tucker Poolman was pulled from the game and placed in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol.
He was the fourth Canucks player to enter the protocol Tuesday, following fellow defensemen Luke Schenn and Brad Hunt, and winger Juho Lahmmikko.
Vancouver recalled Phillip Di Giuseppe from Abbotsford of the American Hockey League earlier in the day to to help bolster the depleted roster. To make room, defenseman Travis Hamonic was placed on long-term injured reserve with a lower-body injury.
The Canucks went into the third period trailing 3-1 but outshot Columbus 13-7 the rest of the way.
They got a prime opportunity with just 72 seconds left on the clock when Blue Jackets defenseman Andrew Peeke was called for holding.
Vancouver called a timeout to scheme, then Horvat deflected a shot past Merzlikins to make it 4-3.
Podkolzin scored the equalizer 9:35 into the third. The Russian rookie collected the puck from Hughes and fired in a quick wrist shot.
The crowd at Rogers Arena broke into chants of “Bruce, there it is!” in a nod to Boudreau, who took over on Dec. 5.
Pettersson narrowed the deficit to one 4:07 into the third, jamming in a wrist shot off a rebound from the side of the net. It was the Swedish center’s sixth goal of the season.
Tempers flared midway through the second after Columbus defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov cross-checked Conor Garland behind the net. Garland was quick to drop his gloves as the whistle blew, but no real blows were exchanged before the pair were separated by officials.
Garland was called for roughing and Gavrikov headed to the box for cross-checking, leaving each side with four skaters.
Vancouver took advantage of the open ice, with Horvat getting the puck at the top of the circle, quickly assessing his options, then rifling a shot over Merzlikins for his eighth goal.
Robinson scored his second goal of the game 16:18 in. He beat Horvat and Tanner Pearson in a foot race through the neutral zone, got to the puck first and fired a shot from inside the faceoff circle, beating Halak glove side to give Columbus a 3-0 lead.
Domi put the Blue Jackets up earlier in the period. Halak stopped a long shot by Gabriel Carlsson but couldn’t control the rebound and Domi tapped it in from the side of the net.
The Blue Jackets opened the scoring 4:20 into the first on Robinson’s goal off a 2-on-1 rush.
NOTES: Canucks defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson returned to the lineup after missing three games with an undisclosed injury. … Juulsen played his first game for his hometown Canucks. Vancouver acquired the 24-year-old blueliner and Lahmmikko from the Florida Panthers in a trade for Olli Juolevi in October.
UP NEXT
Columbus: At the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday, the third stop on a five-game trip.
Vancouver: At the San Jose Sharks on Thursday.
___
More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
