Canucks: 3 takeaways from 4-3 comeback win over Columbus

Make that five in a row for the Vancouver Canucks.

The team came into Rogers Arena on Tuesday night, hoping to cap off their current six-game homestand on a winning note against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The game looked all but lost after the first period, with Columbus outhustling their opponent en route to three straight goals. Fortunately, the Canucks were able to bounce back in the next two periods, registering 30+ shots on goal in the final 40 minutes while Columbus was barely able to scrape together 10.

Vancouver’s hard work and persistence eventually paid off in the end, helping new head coach Bruce Boudreau maintain his perfect record with his new club. With the win, the Canucks now just sit one point back of the sixth-place Los Angeles Kings in the Pacific Division. Tuesday’s comeback parade also marked the first win in which the team was able to erase a three-goal deficit at home since 1996, while their five-game winning streak marked the first of its kind since Vancouver’s playoff matchups against Minnesota and St. Louis in the bubble.

Their winning streak also couldn’t have come at a better time, given that teams like Edmonton and Calgary are starting to cool off from their hot starts to the season. Edmonton currently holds the second and final wild card position in the Western Conference, but only by a four-point margin, and have also lost six straight games to boot.

Without further ado, here are 3 takeaways from Tuesday’s big 4-3 win over Columbus:

Oh captain, my captain

Bo Horvat was on a mission on Tuesday night.

Like the rest of his teammates, Horvat didn’t do very much in the first period, starting off the game with Tyler Motte and Nils Höglander.

The 26-year-old found another gear heading into the second period, skating hard and creating high-quality scoring chances which eventually led to his first tally of the night, an absolute dart that whizzed past the shoulder of netminder Elvis Merzlikins to inject some much-needed life into his team.

Horvat’s most dominant period came in the final frame, where he essentially carried the play and his team whenever he hit the ice, this time skating with Höglander and Jason Dickinson. The captain has a handful of glorious chances early on, including what would’ve been a backhand mid-air, highlight-reel tally, but was stymied by the crossbar.

Horvat was eventually rewarded for his efforts late in the third period, capitalizing on a beautiful cross-ice pass from J.T. Miller on the powerplay. Horvat nearly gave the puck away at the blueline prior to the goal, but was able to sneak in on the left flank to redirect the puck past Merzlikins, which stood as the game-winner.

With the two tallies, Horvat is now up to nine goals and nine assists in 18 games but, more importantly, has re-emerged as the leader that this team needs if they want to claw their way back into the playoff conversation.

Hughes, Myers lead the way once again

Quinn Hughes and Tyler Myers, take a bow.

There’s no surprise that Vancouver’s blueline is one of the weaker spots of their game, but that was emphatically put to the test on Tuesday night.

A few hours before puck drop, the team announced that forward Juho Lammikko and Luke Schenn were placed on the team’s COVID-19 protocol list, forcing Boudreau to juggle his line combinations, who was already in a sticky situation with Travis Hamonic still sidelined with injury and Oliver Ekman-Larsson returning from his own nagging issues.

The bad news continued for the backend during warm-up, as Brad Hunt was also removed from the ice after testing positive as well, paving the way for Abbotsford native Noah Juulsen to make his Canucks debut alongside Kyle Burroughs on the third pairing.

And that wasn’t all.

After playing just 5:37 in the first period, the team also lost the services of Tucker Poolman, who was flagged for a delayed positive test and placed on the COVID-19 protocol list shortly after. As a result, Vancouver was down to five defencemen for the final two periods, putting the responsibility and increased ice time on the shoulders of Hughes and Myers.

Fortunately, they both delivered big.

Hughes ended up playing 27:28 against Columbus, and was electric every time he stepped over the boards. The former Calder Trophy nominee finished the evening with three SOG and three assists, including this slick, patient dish to Vasily Podkolzin for the game-tying tap-in.

With the assists, Hughes sits second in team scoring with 25 points, just four back of Miller, and has also put himself in the conversation for best offensive defencemen with other names such as Adam Fox, Cale Makar and Victor Hedman.

Myers also had a monster game, leading the team in TOI with 29:26, including 18:44 in the final two periods, while also registering three hits, six shots, three blocks and two assists on the second and third goals for Vancouver.

Say what you what about Myers, who has no doubt struggled with this team at times, but the big man has come up clutch when needed, and we’re all hoping he can continue this pace as the team navigates their way through their current blueline situation.