Gavrikov, Blue Jackets rally for OT win against Canucks

COLUMBUS --Vladislav Gavrikov scored at 3:21 of overtime, and the Columbus Blue Jackets rallied for their first win of the season, 4-3 against the Vancouver Canucks at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday.

Gavrikov, who also had an assist, one-timed a pass from Yegor Chinakhov, who had two assists for the Blue Jackets (1-3-0). Johnny Gaudreau had a goal and an assist, and Boone Jenner and Jakub Voracek each had two assists. Elvis Merzlikins made 32 saves.
"We had a couple of opportunities to finish the right way and finally we did it and won that game," Gavrikov said. "That happened fast. I knew [Chinakhov] tried to hide the pass because the [defenseman] was all over him. He just made a great play to me. The net was open."

Bo Horvat scored twice, Elias Pettersson had a goal and an assist for the Canucks, who have lost their first four games (0-3-1). Spencer Martin made 28 saves in his season debut.
"That was a really good effort from our guys, and I wish I could win it," Martin said. "Our leadership group hasn't been quiet at all. We've been grinding to get this thing going the right way. Going into the third, I had a really good feeling that we're going to convert it."
Vancouver coach Bruce Boudreau was denied his 600th NHL win for the fifth straight time, dating back to the finale last season.
The Canucks are the first team in NHL history to lose four straight games after holding a multigoal lead in each.
"We didn't hang our heads and sulk," Boudreau said. "We came out, we played. I thought we played hard and we played to win, and that's what I want them to do.
"I thought in the last 10 minutes of the game, we had 75 percent of the chances. We just didn't score."

Horvat scored short-handed at 7:51 of the first period to give the Canucks a 1-0 lead, and Pettersson made it 2-0 at 11:11 with his 100th NHL goal.
Justin Danforth cut it to 2-1 at 15:42 of the second period. Chinakhov's backdoor pass went off Gavrikov's leg, and Danforth was at the right post to bat it in.
Zach Werenski tied it 2-2 at 6:18 of the third period, putting in a rebound of Jenner's shot.
"The first period, we were flat," Columbus coach Brad Larsen said. "We just had no jump and I'm not sure why. We're trying to figure that out. "But to get some shifts together in the second, we started to put some pressure on and build a few shifts and that helped get us rolling. Even though we were down we started to play, and the last two periods were much better."

Horvat scored during a scramble in front for a 3-2 Vancouver lead at 7:00 before Gaudreau tied it 3-3 at 9:27 unassisted when he skated around three defenders for a wraparound.
It was Gaudreau's second goal of the season.
"I was going to curl back and come back up the ice with a lot of speed," he said. "I kind of faked a shot and thought the goalie wouldn't be ready for a wraparound.
"It was a great team effort. It was fun to be a part of that."
NOTES: Pettersson required the second fewest games (249) to score 100 goals among players who debuted with the Canucks (Pavel Bure, 154 games). … Vancouver activated defenseman Tyler Myers (lower body) and forward Ilya Mikheyev (undisclosed) from injured reserve prior to the game. Myers had three shots on goal and two blocks in 22:12 of ice time; Mikheyev was minus-3 and had two shots in 16:42. … In a swap of Blue Jackets defensemen, Nick Blankenburg made his season debut, replacing Adam Boqvist (healthy scratch). Blankenburg played 21:06 and had a game-high five hits. … Jenner won 17 of 24 face-offs (71 percent).