Canucks rally past for 5-4 win over Columbus in OT Boeser hits for hat trick, Pettersson's double wins it in OT

In Vancouver, the Canucks entered the third period on Saturday, trailing the Columbus Blue Jackets, 4-1.

Vancouver scored three unanswered goals in the third to force extra time, and Elias Pettersson hit for the game-winner in extra time for a 5-4 win.

Pettersson started the third period rally when he scored a power play goal with 71 seconds gone in the third to trim the Blue Jackets lead to 4-2.

Thatcher Demko made 25 saves in the win.

The Canucks improved to 33-11-5, and are 9-0-2 in their last 11 games.

After a scoreless opening stanza, the Blue Jackets hit for a 2-0 lead in the middle frame.

Alexandre Texier  scored his second shorthanded goal in as many games to give the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead at 4:30 of the second.

“We have been doing a pretty good job on the PK but we have to be consistent,” Texier said. “The game is quick. We have to do a better job on the PK. It’s a learning process.”

Columbus pushed the lead to 2-0 at 6:14 with a strike by Sean Kuraly.

The Blue Jackets dropped to 15-23-10.

Brock Boeser, who had a hat trick in the win, scored his first at 15:20 to cut the deficit to 2-1 for the Canucks.

Columbus responded with another pair of goals.

The Blue Jackets scored twice in a 58-second span.

Jake Bean pushed the lead back to two at 17:27 off a turnover for a 3-1 lead.

“Obviously, I was a lot to blame there but that second period we just turned the puck over way too much, got away from our game,” Vancouver’s J.T. Miller said. “Obviously a response. You work hard to draw penalties and it’s nice to see the power play get rewarded and then the penalty kill come up with a gigantic kill where I don’t the guys even let them get set up, which was great.”

Kirill Marchenko hit for the second of the two quick strikes for a 4-1 lead headed to the third.

Boeser hit for consecutive power play goals in the third period to tie the game.

His first was at 3:24 to make it 4-3, and the hat trick goal came at 6:28  of the third.

“I don’t know if it’s hit me yet but more so that we won that game, that’s really exciting for me right now,” Boeser said. “It means a lot. It’s obviously something that I’ve wanted to get to for a while, so to get there is great, but I couldn’t have done it without my teammates and how we’re playing and how we’ve created this standard.”

Elvis Merzlikins made 28 saves in the loss.