Vancouver, BC – Maxim Lapierre was the only one to find the back of the net as his shootout goal lifted the Vancouver Canucks to a 1-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
In a game where neither goaltender blinked, Lapierre finally got one through in the third round as he faked to the backhand and lifted the puck over Sergei Bobrovsky.
"I was going backhand all the way. I do it in practice and it works," Lapierre said. "I just closed my eyes and prayed and it worked."
Matt Calvert had the final chance for the Blue Jackets and tried to stick handle and get Cory Schneider to bite, but he lost control of the puck and Schneider easily turned it aside for the win.
Schneider made 17 stops for his third shutout of the year and seventh of his career for the Canucks, who have won five straight to take a two-point lead over Minnesota for the top spot in the Northwest Division.
Bobrovsky stopped 34 shots for his third career shutout for the Blue Jackets, who have dropped their past two games to fall a point out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
"Bob was great for us tonight and made some really big saves," said Calvert. "It would have been great to get some goals in the net for him, but their guy was great tonight."
Bobrovsky made 25 of his stops in the first two periods, while Schneider was busiest during the second and third periods, making 13 stops during that time.
Vancouver went 0-for-3 on the power play while the Blue Jackets failed in their two chances on the man advantage.
Game Notes
Columbus plays in Edmonton on Thursday in the third of a four-game road trip ... Vancouver hosts the Avalanche on Thursday ... The Canucks took two of three games from the Blue Jackets this season. The Blue Jackets won one game in overtime, while the Canucks took a pair of shootout decisions.
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