Jenner scores twice, Blue Jackets rally for 7-6 victory over Canucks in shootout

COLUMBUS (AP) — Boone Jenner had two goals, Kent Johnson had the lone score of the shootout and the Columbus Blue Jackets rallied from a pair of multi-goal deficits to beat the Vancouver Canucks 7-6 on Friday night and move into a tie for the final wild card in the Eastern Conference.

The Blue Jackets trailed 3-0 less than 14 minutes into the game, but evened it midway through the second period. Vancouver scored the next two to go up 5-3 before Columbus rallied again.

Jenner, who also had an assist, has scored in three straight games. The Blue Jackets are tied with Montreal and the New York Rangers for the second wild card with 75 points.

It is the first time since 2016 Columbus has trailed 3-0 after the first period and come back to win.

Columbus’ Dante Fabbro had a goal and two assists while Olivier, Denton Mateychuk and Kirill Marchenko each had a goal and an assist. Elvis Merzlikins made 31 saves.

Aatu Raty had two goals, Brock Boeser scored for the sixth time in six games and Tyler Myers notched his seventh career short-handed goal for Vancouver.

Pius Suter tied a career high with three assists and posted his third straight multi-point game.

Linus Karlsson and Jake DeBrusk also had goals for Vancouver. Kiefer Sherwood also had three assists, and Quinn Hughes and Dakota Joshua had two apiece. Kevin Lankinen stopped 33 shots

Canucks: Myers moved past Pittsburgh's Kris Letang (6) and Edmonton's Darnell Nurse for most short-handed goals by an active defenseman.

Blue Jackets: With Fabbro's score, Columbus has had 44 goals come from defensemen, second in the league to Colorado's 45.

Jenner's power-play goal with 3:14 remaining in regulation tied it at 5-all and started a wild sequence where the Blue Jackets and Canucks scored three times in 45 seconds. Jenner's goal also snapped Columbus' 0-for-25 drought with the man advantage. Olivier gave Columbus their first lead of the night with 2:52 remaining, but Raty evened it at 6-all with his second goal of the third period.

The Blue Jackets have eight three-goal comeback wins in franchise history, including two this season. They beat Tampa Bay 7-6 in overtime on Nov. 21.

Blue Jackets travel to Ottawa on Saturday while the Canucks are at Winnipeg on Sunday.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Vancouver Canucks right wing Jonathan Lekkerimäki (23) and Columbus Blue Jackets center Cole Sillinger (4) chase the puck in the first period of an NHL hockey game Friday, March 28, 2025, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Vancouver Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers (57) celebrates his short-handed goal with teammates in the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Columbus Blue Jackets Friday, March 28, 2025, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Vancouver Canucks' Pius Suter (24), Kiefer Sherwood, center, and Tyler Myers (57) celebrate Myers' short handed goal in front of Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins (90) in the second period of an NHL hockey game Friday, March 28, 2025, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Vancouver Canucks goaltender Kevin Lankinen (32) blocks a shot in front of Columbus Blue Jackets center Boone Jenner (38) and defenseman Derek Forbort (27) in the second period of an NHL hockey game Friday, March 28, 2025, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Dante Fabbro, left, and Vancouver Canucks right wing Brock Boeser (6) fall behind the net in the first period of an NHL hockey game Friday, March 28, 2025, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The Chinese military announced large-scale drills in the waters around Taiwan on Tuesday as it again warned the self-ruled island against seeking independence.

The joint exercises involve navy, air ground and rocket forces and are meant to be a “severe warning and forceful containment against Taiwan independence,” according to Shi Yi, a spokesperson for the People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theater Command.

China considers Taiwan a part of its territory, to be brought under its control by force if necessary, while most Taiwanese favor their de facto independence and democratic status.

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence said it had tracked 19 Chinese navy vessels in the waters surrounding the island in a 24-hour period from 6 a.m. Monday until 6 a.m. Tuesday.

It added that it had been tracking the movement of the Shandong aircraft carrier since Saturday and that the carrier group had entered into Taiwan's identification zone, a self-defined area tracked by the military.

“I want to say these actions amply reflect its destruction of regional peace and stability,” said Taiwan's Defense Minister Wellington Koo.

Taiwan has set up a central response group to monitor the latest exercises, Koo said.

China's Coast Guard also announced it was conducting a “law enforcement patrol” on Tuesday around Taiwan, its spokesperson Zhu Anqin said.

The drills come just two weeks after a large-scale exercise in mid-March, when Beijing sent a large number of drones and ships toward the island.

China's Taiwan Affairs Office said the exercises were directed at Lai Ching-te, Taiwan's president.

“Lai Ching-te stubbornly insists on a ‘Taiwan independence’ stance, brazenly labeling the mainland as a ‘foreign hostile force,’ and has put forward a so-called “17-point strategy ... stirring up anti-China sentiments,” said China’s Taiwan Affairs Office in a statement on Tuesday. “We will not tolerate or condone this in any way and must resolutely counter and severely punish these actions.”

In mid-March, Taiwan’s Lai put forward a 17-point strategy aimed at shoring up Taiwan’s national security. The points include allowing espionage cases to be tried by military courts and making immigration rules stricter for Chinese citizens applying for permanent residency.

China’s PLA also released a series of videos to publicize their military exercise, including one in which they depict Lai as a green parasite “poisoning” the island by hatching smaller parasites. The video shows Lai’s head on the body of a bulbous green worm, with a pair of chopsticks picking him up and roasting him over a flame set over Taiwan.

Beijing sends warplanes and navy vessels toward the island on a daily basis, seeking to wear down Taiwanese defenses and morale, although the vast majority of the island’s 23 million people reject its claim of sovereignty over Taiwan. In recent years, it has stepped up the scope and scale of these exercises, from sending just fighter planes to sending groups of planes, drones and ships.

Most Taiwanese want to maintain the status quo, in which Taiwan is self-ruled.

“The PLA organized naval and air forces to practice subjects such as sea and land strikes, focusing on testing the troops’ ability to carry out precision strikes on some key targets of the Taiwan authorities from multiple directions,” said Zhang Chi, a professor at China's National Defense University in a CCTV interview.

Faced with the rising threat from China, Taiwan has ordered new missiles, aircraft and other armaments from the U.S., while revitalizing its own defense industry.

Taiwan and China split amid civil war 76 years ago, but tensions have risen in recent years as communication between the two governments has stopped.

Wu reported from Bangkok.

This image released by the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense shows China’s Shandong aircraft carrier sailing near Taiwan on Monday, March 31, 2025. (Taiwan Ministry of National Defense via AP)

This photograph released by Taiwan Ministry of National Defense taken from a Taiwan Air Force P-3C Orion anti-submarine aircraft, shows a Chinese Cloud Shadow WZ-10 drone near Taiwan, Monday, March 17, 2025. (Taiwan Ministry of National Defense via AP)