Music: {allcanada} Sbisa's OT goal lifts Canucks past Jets

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

{allcanada} Sbisa's OT goal lifts Canucks past Jets

VANCOUVER -- A rare foray deep into the offensive zone paid off for Vancouver Canucks defenseman Luca Sbisa on Tuesday.

Sibsa finished off a 2-on-1 rush with Radim Vrbata 36 seconds into overtime and beat a sprawling Ondrej Pavelec to lead the Canucks to a 3-2 comeback win against the Winnipeg Jets at Rogers Arena.

Bryan Little scored the go-ahead goal on a power play 2:13 into the third period, but Vancouver's fourth line tied it with 7:28 left when Ronalds Kenins, who was in the penalty box for holding on Little's goal, scored his second goal in his third NHL game.

Goalie Eddie Lack robbed Blake Wheeler with a glove save on a nice three-way passing play off a 3-on-2 rush, and after a faceoff in the Canucks end, Kenins beat Pavelec short-side under the blocker from below the left faceoff dot at the other end 19 second later.

Alexandre Burrows also scored and Lack made 26 saves in his first start since Jan. 13. The Canucks (28-18-3) moved into a tie with the Calgary Flames for third place in the Pacific Division.

Pavelec made 30 saves in his first start in four games for the Jets (26-18-9), who were coming off a 5-2 loss against the Flames on Monday and had given up 20 goals in four losses.

Blake Wheeler also scored for Winnipeg, which recorded its first point in five games since the All-Star break to move within three points of the Chicago Blackhawks for third place in the Central Division. The Jets are two points ahead of the Flames in the Western Conference.

It was the first game this season between the Canucks and Jets, who came in separated by three points in the two wild-card spots, and it featured lots of big hits and post-whistle confrontations.

There was breaking news before the game; Jets forward Evander Kane, who is from Vancouver and played his junior hockey locally, was a late scratch. The 23-year-old left wing has 10 goals and 22 points in 37 games, but hasn't scored a point and is minus-7 in his past three.

Wheeler opened the scoring midway through the first period for the Jets, chipping the puck around defenseman Dan Hamhuis off the boards for a breakaway and put a shot past Lack under the glove.

Lack, who watched Ryan Miller play the past seven games, kept it close with a right-pad save off a Dustin Byfuglien one-timer from the high slot. Burrows tied it less than three minutes later.

After Alexander Edler made a nice play at the blue line to hold the zone, Henrik Sedin quickly moved the puck across to Daniel Sedin in the slot for a 2-on-1 down low. Daniel Sedin passed to Burrows at the bottom of the left faceoff circle and he dropped to one knee to one-time a shot past Pavelec's out-stretched glove.

Pavelec was the busier of the two goalies; the Jets, who lead the NHL in penalty minutes, gave up the first four power plays of the game. But Pavelec made nice saves on a Jannik Hansen deflection and Edler slap shot, and slid across to deny Radim Vrbata from the low shot with 1.4 seconds left in the first period.

Not to be out-done, Lack stopped Wheeler on another breakaway with four minute minutes left in the first period, getting a piece of his shot with his glove and kicking the rebound away from Andrew Ladd.

Lack also got a break when an apparent go-ahead goal for the Jets was called back for incidental contact with the goaltender with 3:17 left in the second period. Defenseman Jacob Trouba went end to end on a brilliant rush from behind his own net before behind stopped by Lack in tight. Trouba tried to jump over Lack but clipped his right pad as he went through the crease, spinning the goalie while Adam Lowry put the rebound into an empty net. Initially called a goal despite some animated protests from an irate Lack, the call was overturned after a brief discussion among the on-ice officials near center ice.

Lack got another break when Michael Frolik hit the post on a partial shorthanded breakaway in the final minute of the second period, but the break (literally) went the other way early in the third.

With the Jets on an early power play, Edler's stick broke on an easy clearing attempt and the puck went right to Ladd for a 2-on-1 from the inside the faceoff circles. Ladd passed cross-ice to Little, who one-timed his 20th goal of the season past Lack's blocker.

Vancouver had a chance to answer on a power play four minutes later, but Pavelec slid across to get a piece of backdoor chances for Burrows and Chris Higgins. The Canucks finished 0-for-6 with the man-advantage and have two goals in the past 29 chances.