Summarize and humanize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in EnglishThe Vancouver Canucks are an absolute roller coaster.One moment, their playoff chances look dead; the next moment, they string together gutsy performances to stay alive. Lately, the back-and-forth nature of their games has been enough to give fans whiplash. No lead is ever safe with the Canucks. But no deficit, no matter how little time is left on the clock in the third period, is too great for this team to overcome, either.Friday’s massive game against the Blue Jackets continued that volatile theme. The Canucks raced off to a commanding 3-0 start in the first period. They appeared to have a firm grip on the game, especially since they’re generally a tight defensive team. But before the Canucks could even hit the halfway point of the contest, the Blue Jackets had already stormed back to tie the game at three goals apiece.Somehow, that sequence wasn’t even the wildest part of the game.All hell broke loose after Aatu Räty gave the Canucks a critical insurance goal and two-goal lead with less than 14 minutes left in the third period. Denton Mateychuk scored a one-timer less than 30 seconds after Räty’s goal to get Columbus within one. Boone Jenner scored his second goal of the game with less than five minutes left after Linus Karlsson took a tripping penalty on Adam Fantilli. It looked over for the Canucks when Mathieu Olivier powered his way to the net to give the Blue Jackets a 6-5 go-ahead goal with just over two and a half minutes left.Things came back full circle when Räty frantically scored moments later to tie the game up again and clinch 1 point. Unfortunately, the Canucks left the extra point on the table as they fell 7-6 in a shootout loss. Here are three takeaways:Vancouver’s power-play bounces backFor years, Vancouver’s power play has generally scuffled against penalty kills that aggressively pressure the top. Pressure up high restricts Quinn Hughes’ time and space to quarterback plays, and most importantly, the flank players have often lacked the poise and decisiveness to problem-solve around the pressure.Earlier this month, after a 3-1 loss where the Canucks failed to convert on a four minute power-play in the third period against Utah’s aggressive PK, Rick Tocchet expressed frustration with the power-play’s inability to adjust. He seemed exasperated that his power play wasn’t reacting to the pressure up high by quickly working the puck down low, where there was more space to operate.Facing a Columbus PK that was similarly intent on eliminating space up high, the Canucks’ power play struggled during the first minute of their first power-play opportunity. Brock Boeser turned a couple of pucks over, with the club unable to create the swift passing and dynamic movement required to beat the penalty kill.But then the second unit stepped up with the unlikely spark.Conor Garland accepted a pass at the left flank and wrapped around toward the middle. Kiefer Sherwood faded from the net front and kicked out to open ice down low, on the left side. Garland passed the puck down low like the coaching staff has been insisting, and Sherwood made a slick one-touch pass across to Karlsson for the backdoor tap-in.
🚨CANUCKS GOAL🚨
Kiefer Sherwood makes an incredible pass to find Linus Karlsson and he buries it!
🎥: Sportsnet | NHL#Canucks #CBJ pic.twitter.com/mpP7DvmbnB
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) March 28, 2025The Canucks’ power play wasn’t done after the first goal.Vancouver went back to work on the man advantage later in the first period. On this opportunity, the Blue Jackets were more content to sit back defensively. Boeser received a pass from Pius Suter close to the right faceoff circle and had plenty of time and space to glide toward the middle. Dante Fabbro knelt down to try blocking the shooting lane, but Boeser held onto the puck for an extra fraction of a second to manipulate the lane and fired a low shot at Elvis Merzlikins. Merzlikins stopped the initial shot but Jake DeBrusk pounced on the rebound to give the Canucks their second power-play goal of the night.
🚨CANUCKS GOAL🚨
Jake DeBrusk scores his 24th goal of the season! It’s 3-0 Vancouver!
🎥: Sportsnet | NHL#Canucks #CBJ pic.twitter.com/6qhC6uuWB0
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) March 28, 2025You couldn’t have asked for a better time for the Canucks’ slumping power play to get back on track.Kevin Lankinen’s rough outingNine minutes is all it took for the Canucks to squander the 3-0 lead they built up in the first period. Vancouver wasn’t egregiously bad defensively in the second period, but it was helpless against Columbus’ furious push.Jenner got the party started about 30 seconds into the middle frame. He snuck free from Teddy Blueger’s check at the front of the net and redirected a point shot past Lankinen.Less than five minutes later, the Blue Jackets hemmed the Canucks in for an extended sequence. Sean Monahan took the puck and swooped from behind the net to the front, searching for a passing lane into the slot. Vancouver had two forwards positioned well to cover the slot, but fatigue from the long shift perhaps became a factor as Conor Garland couldn’t intercept the pass to Kirill Marchenko and DeBrusk couldn’t block the shot.Defensively, there wasn’t much the Canucks could have done differently on the Blue Jackets’ tying goal. Fabbro threw a long-range, seeing-eye point shot that found twine.Jenner’s redirection goal was difficult, but Lankinen needed to save either the second or third goal Columbus scored.Mateychuk’s unscreened one-time blast from mid-range in the third period, less than 30 seconds after Räty gave the Canucks a 5-3 lead, was one that Lankinen would probably want back, too.Lankinen has been solid for the Canucks overall this year, but his form has dipped down the stretch under a heavy workload. The 29-year-old Finnish goaltender had an .873 save percentage in his last 10 games prior to his start against Columbus.Kent Johnson’s heartbreaking shootout winnerShootouts can often feel like a coin flip. This one, in particular, seemed like a complete wild card given how leaky both goaltenders were in this game. The Blue Jackets probably had the leg up on paper for the shootout because of how many highly skilled forwards with elite hands they have to compared to the Canucks’ battered forward group.That advantage translated.Johnson was the first shooter. He executed a mesmerizing series of forehand/backhand moves and made a hard cut to his forehand side that made Lankinen believe he was going blocker side. Johnson cut on a dime to his backhand and elevated the puck over Lankinen’s glove.
Beauty in the shootout from Kent Johnson#CBJ pic.twitter.com/AjqAXkqeHD
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) March 29, 2025There isn’t a lot that Lankinen could have done differently on that one. Sometimes you just have to tip your hat to a young game-breaking star doing elite things. It doesn’t make the pain of the lost point, however, any easier to stomach for the Canucks.(Photo: Jason Mowry / Getty Images)
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