The Columbus Blue Jackets were swept in Alberta and were looking to Shake It Off in British Columbia on Friday night. How did it end? It was not the love story the Blue Jackets were hoping for despite Taylor Swift playing that night at BC Place.

Pius Suter scored two goals including the game winner in the third period to help lift the Vancouver Canucks to a 5-2 win over the Blue Jackets. This loss will be a bitter pill to swallow for the Blue Jackets given the way they started the game.

Game Recap

The first period was all Blue Jackets. It closely resembled how the first period went in Seattle. Mathieu Olivier opened the scoring off a great pass from Cole Sillinger. Then Damon Severson scored his second goal in two days to make 2-0.

The Canucks just got home from a long road trip and it showed. Shots in the first period were 17-2 for the Blue Jackets. Everyone knew the Canucks were going to push from the second period on. Eventually their push was too strong to be stopped.

Brock Boeser made it 2-1 just under four minutes into the second period. Before this goal, Blue Jackets defenseman Ivan Provorov was taken down by Elias Pettersson. Provorov had to leave the game due to an upper-body injury. Replay showed his thumb was not in a good place. With him out, the Blue Jackets had to play the rest of the game with only five defensemen.

While the Blue Jackets hung in for the most part in the second after Boeser’s goal, the game seemed to turn late in the second period. With Zach Werenski seemingly in position to play a puck, goalie Elvis Merzlikins left his crease to play the puck. Eventually Kiefer Sherwood was able to score on this broken play. Although the Blue Jackets owned the shot clock, it was 2-2 after 40 minutes.

It only took the Canucks 2:17 to get the lead for good. Suter scored one that just got past Merzlikins and the goal line. Jake DeBrusk added a power-play goal midway through the third before Suter hit the empty net for his second of the game.

Kevin Lankinen made 15 saves in the first period to limit the damage. It could have been 4-0 easily if not for his play. He stopped 30/32 on the night. Merzlikins only saw 16 shots but made just 12 saves.

The Blue Jackets are now 1-3-0 on this long Western trip with one last game Sunday in Winnipeg to try and salvage a win. The Canucks will now get ready to host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday afternoon.