Canucks aim to improve on win over Blue Jackets, set for test against Avalanche

VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Canucks have a chance to do something Sunday night that they haven’t done in almost three weeks — win consecutive games.

They know doing it won’t be easy.

Brock Boeser scored on a partial breakaway at 14:15 of the third period Saturday night to snap a 3-3 deadlock and give the Canucks a 4-3 NHL win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Conor Garland, Drew O’Connor and Jake DeBrusk also scored for the Canucks (8-8-0) who played the first of back-to-back games.

Kirill Marchenko had two goals and an assist for the Blue Jackets (7-7-0) who lost their third straight game on the road. Dmitri Voronkov had a goal and two assists.

It was a gusty win for a Vancouver team that lost 5-2 to the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday.

The Canucks will have little time to savour the victory as they prepare for the red-hot Colorado Avalanche. The Avalanche lead the league with a 9-1-5 record and have won four of their last five games, including a 9-1 whipping of the Oilers in Edmonton Saturday.

“We need to build on this,” said DeBrusk, who scored his third goal of the year and his first five-on-five. “It’s a really tough task, probably against the top team in the league. We’re going to need to bring our best. We’ve got to bring our A game.”

Vancouver strung together road wins over Dallas, Chicago and Washington between Oct. 16 and Oct. 19. The Canucks lost their next three in a row, and since then have been on a win-one, lose-one pace.

“It would be nice to win a few in a row,” said Garland, who returned to the lineup Wednesday after missing three games with an injury. “It’s a tough opponent. We’ve just got to play well. There’s a lot of improve on, so we’ve just got to keep going.”

Head coach Adam Foote doesn’t want his players thinking about who they play next.

“With a young group like this we have to stick to the process,” said the first-year Canuck bench boss. “I know it sounds cliché and boring, but it’s so true. We have to focus.

“We can’t get too high. We’ve got a lot of young guys, got a lot of teaching going on. We want to keep the confidence there but also keep them emotionally level.”

Goaltender Thatcher Demko didn’t dress against the Blue Jackets after missing practice Friday. He last played in a win over Nashville on Monday.

General manager Patrik Allvin said Demko could “possibly” play against Colorado.

Demko was limited to just 23 games last year because of a knee injury. He did skate Saturday morning.

Vancouver goaltender Kevin Lankinen stopped 29 shots against Columbus, while Elvis Merzlikins made 21 saves for the Blue Jackets.

The victory was the first in regulation time for the Canucks in nine games.

Vancouver battled back from a 2-1 deficit and didn’t crumble when Marchenko’s second goal tied the match midway through the third period.

“We stayed with the program,” said DeBrusk. “It’s something we’ve kind of had to learn.”

The Vancouver penalty kill also didn’t allow a goal while playing short-handed three times. The Canuck penalty kill had allowed six goals over the previous four games.

“The guys played hard,” said Foote. “Good teams are going to get their looks on a power play. We had way more confidence, so we pressured more. When you see that pressure you know they’re feeling comfortable.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2025.