VANCOUVER - The Vancouver Canucks have a chance to do something Sunday night that they haven鈥檛 done in almost three weeks 鈥 win consecutive games.
They know doing it won鈥檛 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鈥機onnor 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.
鈥淲e need to build on this,鈥 said DeBrusk, who scored his third goal of the year and his first five-on-five. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a really tough task, probably against the top team in the league. We鈥檙e going to need to bring our best. We鈥檝e got to bring our A game.鈥
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.
鈥淚t would be nice to win a few in a row,鈥 said Garland, who returned to the lineup Wednesday after missing three games with an injury. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a tough opponent. We鈥檝e just got to play well. There鈥檚 a lot of improve on, so we鈥檝e just got to keep going.鈥
Head coach Adam Foote doesn鈥檛 want his players thinking about who they play next.
"With a young group like this we have to stick to the process,鈥 said the first-year Canuck bench boss. 鈥淚 know it sounds clich茅 and boring, but it鈥檚 so true. We have to focus.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 get too high. We鈥檝e 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.鈥
Goaltender Thatcher Demko didn鈥檛 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鈥檛 crumble when Marchenko鈥檚 second goal tied the match midway through the third period.
鈥淲e stayed with the program,鈥 said DeBrusk. 鈥淚t鈥檚 something we鈥檝e kind of had to learn.鈥
The Vancouver penalty kill also didn鈥檛 allow a goal while playing short-handed three times. The Canuck penalty kill had allowed six goals over the previous four games.
鈥淭he guys played hard,鈥 said Foote. 鈥淕ood 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鈥檙e feeling comfortable.鈥
This report by 好色tvwas first published Nov. 8, 2025.
