This game had some decent pace to it early on, as the two teams, both on the outskirts of their respective conferences’s playoff pictures, attempted to find a quick strike advantage early.

After a big hit on Erik Gudrbanson courtesy of Dakota Joshua led to some chaos in the Columbus end, an under pressure Sean Monahan fired the puck over the glass, giving the Canucks the game’s first power play.

The Canucks’ power play hasn’t been very good lately, and has even given up some shorthanded goals. That nearly happened again, but once the first unit got off the ice, the Canucks’ power play managed to strike. Kiefer Sherwood made an excellent quick touch pass to the blue paint, where Linus Karlsson was waiting to tap home the game’s first goal.

This was an excellent job by the Canucks’ power play to recognize how aggressively the Blue Jackets’ penalty kill was playing. How else do you describe Erik Gudbranson being the guy pressuring the point?

Shortly after, Quinn Hughes made a savvy drop pass to Brock Boeser, which left Boeser with time and space. Enough time and space for him to rip home his 24th goal of the season.

Now, for reasons unknown, Linus Karlsson was assessed an unsportsmanlike penalty for going after Dante Fabbro, who cross-checked Hughes down on the play.

Hughes was slow to get up, but was good to go. And honestly, it was good to see the Canucks stick up for their captain. Good penalty Linus.

On the ensuing power play Kevin Lankinen actually had to make some nice saves. As Columbus’s power play expired, the Canucks were given one of their own. And this time, the first unit got the memo, attacking the Blue Jackets quicker than their penalty killers could adjust. And just like that, the Canucks were up by three.

3-0 Canucks courtesy of Jake DeBrusk, who the Canucks could certainly use to get hot right now.

With two power play goals, the Canucks turned in about as good of a first period as they could have hoped for.

The Blue Jackets got on the board 34 seconds into the second, as Denton Mateychuk threw a puck on net that deflected off of Boone Jenner and went past Kevin Lankinen.

The Blue Jackets kept up the pressure, and less than five minutes later, Kirill Marchenko capitalized after the Canucks got trapped in their own end with some tired bodies on the ice.

And three minutes after that, the Blue Jackets scored their third goal of the period.

With all due respect to Kevin Lankinen, the Canucks needed a save from their goaltender when the Blue Jackets poured it on the way they did. I think back to the pushes from the Devils and Islanders the last couple games, and how Thatcher Demko was there to slam the door shut and swing momentum in his team’s favour. The Canucks desperately needed that momentum swing in the the early parts of the second period, and they didn’t get it.

Things looked primed to go from bad to worse when Elias Pettersson was assessed a double minor for high sticking. But instead, the Canucks got the game’s next goal, as Tyler Myers chipped a puck over Elvis Merzlikins’ pad to give the Canucks the lead once again.

After this, the game seemed to open up again, and as it did in the first period, that seemed to benefit the Canucks, as they got some more good chances off on Merzlikins down the final stretch of the second period.

This was a high scoring affair, and the Canucks entered the third up by a goal.

The Canucks did a good job of withstanding the Blue Jackets’ inevitable pressure, and Lankinen deserves some flowers for making a save that led directly to the Canucks going the other way and scoring a goal to put them up by two. This time, it was Aatu Räty moving in off the rush after receiving a pass in the neutral zone from Quinn Hughes and sniping one past Merzlikins.

Just 21 seconds later, the Blue Jackets pulled back within one.

And you knew what was coming next. After the Canucks failed to clear the puck multiple times, Kevin Lankinen made a solid blocker save, but the rebound was there for Justin Danforth to swat out of the air and into the back of the net.

The Canucks challenged the goal for goaltender interference, and it was a successful challenge, as the goal was taken off the board.

Linus Karlsson took a tripping penalty with just over three minutes remaining, adding to the drama of this game. And it didn’t take long for Columbus to tie this one up.

And it took even less time for Columbus to take the lead.

And then, you guessed it, the Canucks took very little time to answer. Again, it was Aatu Räty.

Kevin Lankinen made some massive saves over the final two minutes of the third, and this one needed overtime. That is a valuable point for both teams.

Quinn Hughes found himself on a breakaway early into OT, but Merzlikins made a big pad save on Hughes’s backhand attempt. After he and Jake DeBrusk nearly scored after some subtle interference from Filip Hronek, Brock Boeser made a great defensive play to hustle back and take the puck away from Ivan Provorov before the Columbus attack could even begin.

Hughes turned in a great shift with Sherwood and Jonathan Lekkerimäki, and Sherwood came oh-so-close to putting this one away.

This one needed a shootout.

Kent Johnson: Scores.
Jake DeBrusk: Stopped.

Adam Fantili: STOPPED!
Conor Garland: Stopped.

Kirill Marchenko: STOPPED!
Jonathan Lekkerimäki: Stopped.

Game over. One point for the Canucks.

Some more takeaways from tonight:

-I sure hope this is the start of a Jake DeBrusk hot streak. What a boost that would be for this team.
-This team is going to need some more centre depth. Offer sheets seem like a long shot, but it will be interesting to see how the team addresses this heading into next year. Obviously, Allvin has already said they will “definitely” address this need.
-Canucks need some help on the out-of-town scoreboard in a hurry.
-I’d like to see more from Conor Garland. He has had a great season, but now would be a great time for him to get back to being a key contributor and driver of his line.
-Seemed a bit risky to go with Lankinen tonight, when a loss could essentially end your season, but I get that Thatcher Demko needs his rest as well.
-What the hell just happened? What a wild game.

What’s your instant reaction to tonight’s game? Let us know in the comments section below! And be sure to tune into Rink Wide Vancouver moments after the final horn!