Sergei Bobrovsky almost single-handedly willed the Blue Jackets to the most unlikely of victories Tuesday night at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, but one shootout goal was the difference in a rather tame affair.
For most of the game, it was the Blue Jackets who had to stave off the Canucks, who kept coming shift after shift and spent a lot of time inside the Columbus end of the rink. It was an old-fashioned, tight-checking game and it was evident that the points were precious; both teams are in their respective races for the postseason and by getting to overtime, the Blue Jackets (33 points) were able to climb within a point of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
But as Matt Calvert said post-game, it wasn’t the Jackets’ best effort tonight and it eventually cost them the additional point in the standings.
Vancouver took the first 11 shots on goal before the 10-minute mark of the opening period and held a 13-2 shots edge after 20 minutes, but Bobrovsky rebounded in spectacular fashion to keep his team squarely in the mix. The Canucks followed up their dominant first period with a so-so second period but the Blue Jackets had the better of the play in the third period and overtime, and had a glorious opportunity in sudden death.
Ryan Johansen – playing in his hometown and in front of several friends and family members – took advantage of a Canucks miscue and centered a sweet feed to Nick Foligno across the crease, but Dan Hamhuis sprawled to make a game-saving stop with his left skate.
In the shootout, the only goal came from the stick of Max Lapierre, who made a slick deke to his backhand and roofed it over Bobrovsky in the third round.
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