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Desperation is the common thread of most games in the Western Conference these days as the frantic race for NHL playoff spots increases the desperation.

Last night at General Motors Place, the most desperate team was the Columbus Blue Jackets, as they scored the final three goals for an inspiring 3-2 overtime decision over the lead-blowing Vancouver Canucks.

Jason Chimera scored the sudden-death goal after 67 seconds on a pretty goalmouth pass from Nikolai Zherdev.

The Blue Jackets are 11th in the West and coach Ken Hitchcock wants points from all three games on a swing through Western Canada before eight games at home later in the month.

Columbus rallied early in the third period when rookie Andrew Murray and always-dangerous Rick Nash scored 70 seconds apart to erase a two-goal disadvantage. Murray deflected a point shot by Dick Tarnstrom at 5:18 and Nash followed with a breakaway effort against netminder Roberto Luongo for his 34th goal of the season.

The Canucks established their lead in the first 40 minutes when Ryan Shannon scored in the first period and defenceman Sami Salo in the second.

Vancouver now has given up leads in the third period in consecutive games after winning the previous four, drawing the ire of Luongo.

He was irate after losing in a shootout on Wednesday against the Colorado Avavlanche and couldn't have been any happier after the lead vanished against Columbus.

Before the game, both teams were openly anxious to come away with points from the conference game.

"They're all going to be close games from here on in," Canucks defenceman Kevin Bieksa predicted. "You've got to forget the last game [a shootout loss] and move on.

"It's been a strange season with all the injuries we've got. But we're getting healthy at the right time of year."

The Jackets wanted to get over the loss of veterans Adam Foote and Sergei Fedorov, moved at the trade deadline on Tuesday with an eye to the future.

"We can't worry about that kind of stuff," Nash said. "It's time for [other] guys to step up."

Vancouver established a lead in the opening period after an apparent Canucks goal was waved off by referee Dean Warren. He ruled there was incidental contact between Canucks captain Markus Naslund and Columbus netminder Pascal Leclaire in the crease when a shot by Daniel Sedin entered the net during a Canucks power play.

Video replays showed Naslund was pushed into the netminder by Jackets defender Jan Hejda.

The Canucks did manage to establish an advantage a few seconds after Shannon finished serving a minor penalty. He joined a rush with penalty killers Trevor Linden and Taylor Pyatt to score at 12:38, taking a pass from Linden before beating Leclaire to the far corner.

Luongo was shaken briefly in the second period when barging Columbus winger Jared Boll collided with the netminder. Luongo's left shoulder was jammed into the goal post and Boll was assessed a minor penalty.

Vancouver increased its lead in the second after rookie forward Mason Raymond created a scoring chance by beating Columbus defender Ole-Kristian Tollefsen to the puck on the end boards. Moments later, Salo whistled a high shot past Leclaire to the short side at 10:58.

The Canucks defended against high-scoring Columbus wingers Nash and Zherdev by using specific defensive pairings against the rising stars, who began the game on separate forward lines.

Salo and Mattias Ohlund played were matched against Nash, while Willie Mitchell and Bieksa often played against Zherdev.

Vancouver made two lineup changes, with defenceman Aaron Miller replacing Mike Weaver, while left winger Jeff Cowan stepped in for Brad Isbister. Miller had missed 10 games with a broken bone in his left foot.

The Jackets also changed two players from their previous game. Aaron Rome played defence in place of Kris Russell, while Derek McKenzie took over at centre when Jiri Novotny went home to be with his pregnant wife.