VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- Ryan Kesler found a positive spin to giving up
a third-period lead. The Vancouver Canucks' meltdown gave him a chance
to finally complete his first NHL hat trick.
Kesler, who had 12 previous two-goal
games, scored a power-play goal 1:30 into overtime to lift the Canucks
to a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday night.
With Columbus defenseman Jan Hejda
serving a boarding penalty, Kesler took a pass from Daniel Sedin on a
2-on-1 break down low and fired a quick shot over the outstretched pad
of goalie Mathieu Garon.
"It just felt good to get it off my
back," said Kesler, who has three other two-goal games this season. "I
was sniffing for a while to get that third one, not only this year but
last year."
Roberto Luongo made 28 saves, and Sedin
extended his point streak to nine games on the winning goal as
Vancouver improved to 7-1-1 its last nine games.
But the real story was Kesler, who opened
the scoring late in the first period, put the Canucks ahead on a
breakaway midway through the second, and ending things with his 15th
goal of the season in overtime.
"He certainly was the best player on the
ice," Columbus coach Scott Arniel said. "Sometimes he gets overshadowed
by other players on the team but his speed and his skill are real
dangerous."
Tom Sestito tied it with his first NHL
goal and point on a power play 7:34 into the third period, parking his
6-foot-5, 228-pound frame atop the crease and deflecting Mike
Commodore's low point shot past Luongo. Derick Brassard also scored,
and Garon finished with 27 saves for the Blue Jackets, who have two
wins in 10 games (2-5-3).
Columbus rallied for a second straight game to earn a point before losing in overtime.
"We've shown there's a lot of heart on
this team, and we're right there," Sestito said. "It's close, and
hopefully we start getting two points."
Kesler opened the scoring with 22.9
seconds left in the first period, shortly after Luongo made a great
right pad save off Derek Dorsett on a 3-on-1. Kesler, robbed on a
partial breakaway five minutes earlier, took a drop pass from Alex
Edler, and snapped a 20-foot wrist shot past Garon's blocker.
"He's a great shooter," said Garon, who
got the start after replacing Steve Mason after two goals just 4:25
into Monday's 3-2 overtime loss at Calgary.
Brassard tied it after a turnover
created a 2-on-1 down low with Rick Nash, but Kesler added his second
two minutes later. This time the puck bounced over Rostislav Klesla's
stick in his end, sending Kesler in alone.
"The second one was kind of luck,"
Kesler said. "It did seem like the puck was magnetized to my stick.
It's one of those games you feel good out there."
Columbus had two great chances to tie it
early in the third. But Kesler made a diving pokecheck to take a great
chance away from Brassard in the slot 90 seconds into the period, and
Jakub Voracek shot a backhander off the post on a breakaway after
deking Luongo to the ice 30 seconds later.
The Blue Jackets tied it when their
29th-ranked power-play unit connected. Columbus was held without a shot
on its first two advantages, but needed only 10 seconds on its third
when Sestito was left alone in front.
"It was a big relief," said Sestito,
playing his third game this season and seventh in his NHL career. "It's
my first one, and it feels a little better that it's one to help the
team."
