Canucks rally past Jets for 3-2 win

[March 09, 2012]  VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- Sammy Pahlsson scored his first goal with the Canucks to give Vancouver a 3-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday.

Pahlsson, acquired at the trade deadline for draft picks from Columbus, took Kevin Bieksa's drop pass inside the blue line and drilled a shot over the glove of goalie Ondrej Pavelec.

Defenseman Dustin Byfuglien screened his own goalie on Pahlsson's third goal of the season at 14:17 of the third period.

Ryan Kesler and Alex Edler also scored for the Canucks.

Kyle Wellwood and Blake Wheeler scored for the Jets.

The Canucks (42-18-8) rallied for the win after losing twice in a row at home -- only the second time this season the Northwest Division leaders have lost two straight in regulation.

Vancouver is one point behind the Western Conference-leading St. Louis Blues in its bid to repeat as Presidents' Trophy winners.

The Jets (32-28-8) lost in regulation for only the second time in 10 games as they battle for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Wheeler gave Winnipeg its first lead at 3:34 of the third period when he went around a falling Edler and caught goalie Cory Schneider going the wrong way.

His snap shot to the far post was his fifth goal in the past five games, but Edler gave Vancouver a 2-2 tie at 6:28.

The Vancouver defenseman drifted a shot toward the net that bounced off Wheeler and behind Pavelec, who faced 45 shots.

The teams were tied 1-1 after two periods.

Kesler, who hit two posts and a crossbar in two periods and had only one goal in his past 12 games, opened the scoring while killing a penalty.

He grabbed an outlet pass that appeared to hit an official in the Winnipeg zone and his shot under the stick of defenseman Tobias Enstrom eluded Pavelec at 1:44 of the second. It was Kesler's 20th goal of the season.

Mark Stuart contributed to Wellwood's tying goal at 15:22 of the second when he took a hit to prevent a clearing attempt by the Canucks.

Evander Kane shot the loose puck toward the net, it hit a skate and bounced to the former Canuck, who slid it into an open corner past Schneider.

There were "Go Jets Go" chants from fans, many in Jets jerseys with the new logo. It was the first visit to Vancouver by a Winnipeg team since the old Jets lost 5-4 to Vancouver 16 years ago.

The Canucks dominated early in a free-wheeling, scoreless opening period where the teams didn't get a whistle until 4:23 after the opening faceoff.

Kesler paced Vancouver's attack that produced a 20-11 edge in shots on goal, but his best attempt hit the crossbar and post behind Pavelec.

Schneider, who honed his puck-stopping skills for three seasons in Winnipeg with the AHL Manitoba Moose, was sharp late in the period.

He challenged Jim Slater's shot from the deep slot and went down to stop Kane after the former Vancouver junior star stickhandled past Edler.

NOTES: It was the only meeting between the two teams this season and the first game for Winnipeg since an eight-game homestand. ... Jets forward Kyle Wellwood played 149 regular-season games over two seasons for the Canucks while Tanner Glass played 140 ... Vancouver won 3-1 in Atlanta in 2011 when the Jets were the Thrashers.

[Associated Press]

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