COLUMBUS, Ohio _ They were lifeless again for most of the game, looking like a team headed straight toward a third straight loss and 11th in 12 games.
The Vancouver Canucks were draining the life out of Nationwide Arena and the Blue Jackets past the midpoint of the third period Sunday night, but then found out what the rest of the NHL has learned about the team from Columbus this season.
They might look dead sometimes, but the zombies just keep finding ways to lurch forward as this injury-riddled season heads into its final five weeks. It happened again in the Jackets' final game heading into a Western Canada swing, with a four-goal outburst late in the third period leading to an improbable 5-3 victory against the Canucks that turned a moribund building into a madhouse for the final minutes.
Riley Nash cut the Canucks' lead to 3-2 on a goal at 12:39 of the third, Zach Werenski scored his 20th goal of the season to tie it 3-3 on a power play less than three minutes later and rookie Emil Bemstrom capped another power play at 18:23 for the one that decided it.
Gustav Nyquist scored into an empty net for the game's final goal, capping a shocking comeback victory.
The Canucks came into the game after losing their previous two games and falling 4-2 on Saturday night in Toronto. They scored two early goals in the first against the Blue Jackets, by Bo Horvat and Elias Pettersson, and took a 3-1 lead 1:12 into the second on a tally by J.T. Miller.
The Canucks dominated much of the game, but just couldn't hold off the Jackets' late charge, which moved them to 78 points and kept them in the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Kevin Stenlund scored in the first period for the Blue Jackets (32-21-14), who got two assists from defenseman Ryan Murray in his first game back from a long absence with a back injury.
Werenski and Stenlund had a goal and assist each, while Joonas Korpisalo made 36 saves for his 19th win of the season in net.
Pettersson and Miller each had a goal and two assists for Vancouver, which started Louis Domingue (30 saves).
