Blue Jackets late push defeats Red Wings 3-2

Pierre-Luc Dubois #18 of the Columbus Blue Jackets scores a goal on Thomas Greiss #29 of the Detroit Red Wings during the third period of an NHL game at Little Caesars Arena on January 18, 2021 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images)

An early matinee concluded with the Columbus Blue Jackets ending their opening slide Monday. A late surge and a hit of frustrations for the Detroit Red Wings handed them their first win of the season with a 3-2 win. 

Detroit’s win on Saturday showed a lot of promise to the core values that Bobby Ryan and captain Dylan Larkin brought together. Their 4-2 win against the Hurricanes allowed them to continue building upon the time at home. With Columbus coming to visit for a pair of games, and the team having yet to record a win, the Red Wings would try to avoid them from getting anything close to a point while in the motor city. 

Through the opening six minutes, the Red Wings and Blue Jackets had their scoring chances, but neither goaltender gave anything up. Tyler Bertuzzi almost had the first goal with a loose puck in front of Columbus netminder Joonas Korpisalo. The Finn managed to snatch it up and stop play but his next battle with the Detroit offense didn’t fare well. On a faceoff to his left, Ryan one-timed a snapshot that flew to the right of Korpisalo and into the net for his second of the season. 

At 10:24, Columbus forward Seth Jones earned a penalty shot for his first facing Thomas Greiss. Too many fancy moves ended the attempt with the Detroit goaltender putting a glove on it. It marked the sixth shot for the Blue Jackets and little else as the Red Wings dictated play through the remainder of the period. Good moves, plenty of fight, and shots at the Columbus net produced a total of 13 while their opponents had eight. 

Just one minute into the second period, the Red Wings had a power-play chance to increase the score. Their efforts saw a lot of blocked shots from the Columbus PK unit and work from Korpisalo as he closed the window on Frans Nielsen. The penalty kill helped the Blue Jackets put the offense into another gear, giving Griess a lot to handle. He was halfway through the game with a shutout on the Blue Jackets, hoping that he and his team could keep up the good work. 

At 4:49, the Blue Jackets tied the game with a late change on the ice helping their back end. Oliver Bjorkstrand fired the puck through traffic to notch his first of the season. It was the moment that evened up Columbus with Detroit as 40 minutes was in the books with each team shooting 11 times in the period. With 20 minutes left to play in regulation, the Red Wings had to up the ante to hold the Blue Jackets back.

Ryan earned a penalty for tripping to open the third that gave Columbus time to pressure the Red Wings. Detroit handled the man advantage for the Blue Jackets and forced back even-strength due to wins from the faceoff. Alexandre Texier took care of business at 5:10 with a wraparound attempt that watched the puck go under a stick and into the net for his efforts to move Columbus up 2-1. 

An open part of the ice allowed the Blue Jackets to move quickly while Detroit made a line change. Pierre Luc Dubois scored 1:16 later with his first and Detroit trailing by a sizable margin. Columbus was outshooting the Red Wings with some of the best shooters quiet on the ice. A power play at 12:34 gave Detroit a chance to get back within reach but was silenced for two minutes. 

A heartbreaker for the Red Wings occurred when they fired one that hit the goalpost when Korpisalo was at a vulnerable point. With 2:49 left in regulation, Detroit pulled Greiss from the net for the extra man but spent a lot of time fighting the puck away from Columbus. After a scoring chance in the Blue Jackets net that they almost thought was theirs, a fight ensued with Korpisalo hitting Vladislav Namestnikov and Tyler Bertuzzi returning the favor. 

More fights broke out between the teams as it was being determined by the NHL if the goal was good or not. After incidental contact was ruled out, referees determined the goal was good for Detroit with Anthony Mantha receiving credit. The Red Wings tried to empty the net during the first faceoff but time was not on their side as the game came to a close with the Blue Jackets winning their first game.