Horvat labels 3rd-period collapse to Blue Jackets 'unacceptable'

The Vancouver Canucks looked well on their way to securing a win Sunday against the Columbus Blue Jackets until disaster struck in the third period.

The Canucks, who were up 3-1 with under eight minutes to play, went on to lose the game 5-3, and captain Bo Horvat made his frustrations known postgame.

"If we want to win and make the playoffs, we have to be better than that," Horvat said. "Plain and simple. We were the better team for 52 minutes, but those last eight minutes killed us. It's unacceptable. We're upset."

The Blue Jackets scored two power-play goals within three minutes in the second half of the final frame and later completed the comeback with an empty-net marker.

"These kinds of games just don't leave you. I think it's good that we have two days off right now to kind of regroup, get a practice under our belt before we play another game," head coach Travis Green said, according to Sportsnet's Brendan Batchelor. "When you play playoff hockey, you're going to lose a game, you're going to lose a game in overtime, and you've got to reset and get ready to play.

"This, probably, is a lot like that as far as how you'll feel after a tough loss in playoff hockey, and it's like playoff hockey right now. So I'm glad we've got a couple days here."

The Canucks slipped into the first wild-card spot with the loss, bringing their record to 34-25-6. Sunday's matchup capped off a four-game road trip, as the club is set to begin a four-game homestand Wednesday.