The Red Wings began the first of a si- game road trip with a loss in Columbus against the Blue Jackets. However, one wouldn’t have been blamed if they mistook it for a Red Wings home game if you just looked at the crowd in the stands. I guess with fanbases as close as these, that’s to be somewhat expected, though.
The Red Wings and Blue Jackets traded blows throughout the game, and had the most penalties and power-play goals in a period in 7+ years, according to the ESPN broadcast. There was plenty of action throughout, but things opened up late in the first period.
Ivan Provorov gave Columbus its first lead late in the first period after Red Wings defenseman Ben Chiarot managed to just barely clear the puck from crossing behind the pipes. Unfortunately, the puck was cleared to the waiting Provorov on the blue line. He uncorked one that got past Detroit goalie Cam Talbot before he could re-adjust from the last shot. Provorov would also be partially responsible for the second goal of the game, though not for his own team.
Second Period, Second Chances
Dylan Larkin got the Red Wings on the board and tied up with the Blue Jackets just over a minute into the second period on a power play, thanks to Provorov deciding to shove his own goalie’s net off its stand. Columbus struck back with a power play goal from Kirill Marchenko to retake the lead 2-1 just minutes later.
The second would see four more penalties and five total power-play goals as the two teams traded goals and penalties like welterweight boxers. The Bluejackets made it 3-1 when Kent Johnson was able to fly up to the net unabated while the Red Wings struggled to find the play. A high-sticking penalty on Dmitri Voronkov gave Detroit a four-minute power play. They would score two goals spaced just over a minute apart to tie things back up.
James van Riemsdyk assisted Lucas Raymond on the first one and chipped in his own against his former team to get things tied up at 3. However, Adam Fantilli put one more up for Columbus before the period ended, leaving the Red Wings down 4-3.
Slim Margins
Patrick Kane scored career goal number 496, which was also good for his 395th multi-point game. Kane is now just 12 points behind Chris Chelios on the list for most points by an American player. Alex DeBrincat scored unassisted on a nasty wrist shot to give the Wings their first lead of the night with 8:15 left. Detroit wasn’t able to close things out, however, and Fantilli got his second goal of the night to force overtime.
Neither team was able to score in the extra period. Columbus scored on their first attempt, and the Red Wings failed to on either of their first two attempts. Fantilli sealed the game with the shootout winner to give the Bluejackets the win, 6-5 over Detroit.