Red Wings coach Todd McLellan on 6-5 shootout loss against Blue Jackets
The Red Wings opened a season-long, six-game road trip with a 6-5 shootout loss in Columbus.
Columbus, Ohio — Earning the one point was nice, but the Red Wings felt they did enough Thursday to earn the full two points.
The Wings rallied to take the lead in the third period, saw Columbus tie the game, and then after a scoreless overtime, watched the Blue Jackets skate away with a 6-5 victory.
Columbus scored two goals in the shootout, and none for the Wings, as the Blue Jackets avenged a similar game in Detroit this season.
In the earlier game, the Wings rallied and won in overtime.
Same plot, but different team winning this time.
“It kind of reminds me of the game we played in Detroit,” coach Todd McLellan said. “We fell behind, had to come back, the game went to overtime, and in that case, we got the shot off we needed. Tonight we didn’t and then it comes down to a crapshoot in the shootout.”
The Wings dropped to 14-11-3 while opening this season-long, six-game road trip.
Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat scored goals 2 minutes, 3 seconds apart midway in the third period, sending the Wings to a 5-4 lead.
The Wings pressured the entire period, Columbus goaltender Elvis Merzlikins made several quality saves to keep the lead, but Kane and DeBrincat finally broke through.
Adam Fantilli scored his second goal of the game and 11th of the season, at 18:29, with Merzlikins pulled, tying the game 5-5. Fantilli’s shot through the slot got through a maze of bodies and goaltender Cam Talbot.
BOX SCORE: Blue Jackets 6, Red Wings 5 (SO)
The Jackets (13-9-5) then won the shootout on goals from Kent Johnson and Kirill Marchenko.
“After the second (period), if you told us we’d get a point and taking it overtime, you always want two points, but that would have been good for us,” Kane said. “But you get that one-goal lead in the third period, that would have been nice to finish that off and get the two points.”
Kane tied the game, 4-4, in the third period. Fighting a nine-game, goal-scoring slump, Kane scored his fourth goal at 9:35, cutting into the slot and snapping a shot past Merzlikins.
There was a bit more of a exclamation point in the celebration by Kane, too.
“For sure, it’s been a little bit,” Kane said. “It’s probably the way to do it, you attack and shoot it through the defenseman and find a way to get a shot on net. It was good to see it go in.”
DeBrincat then broke the tie, his 14th goal, at 11:38. DeBrincat cut through the slot and blasted a shot past Merzlikins, giving the Wings the lead.
It wasn’t easy getting there.
Fantilli, the former Michigan standout, broke a 3-3 tie with a power-play goal at 13:50 of the second period. Fantilli’s blast from the low circle capped a second period with five power-play goals (three by the Wings).
Dylan Larkin (15th goal), Lucas Raymond (10th) and James van Riemsdyk (fifth) all had second-period, power-play goals.
“We kind of kept it predictable and simple and went through our progressions and reads and nothing fancy,” van Riemsdyk said of the power-play success. “The goals were just getting pucks to the net at the right time and capitalizing on our chances that way.”
The Jackets took a 3-1 lead with goals from Kirill Marchenko (power play, ninth goal) and Kent Johnson (third) 1:53 apart early in the second period.
But goals from Raymond and van Riemsdyk, while the Wings were enjoying a four-minute power play on a high-sticking penalty to Columbus’ Dmitri Voronkov, tied the game, 3-3.
Raymond scored his third in three games, lining a shot from near the hashmarks at 9:08. The Wings tied it when van Riemsdyk scored his fifth, and fourth in five games, scooped a loose puck net-front past Merzlikins at 10:20.
Ivan Provorov (fourth goal) opened the game’s scoring, with a point shot through traffic in front of Talbot, at 17:55 of the first period.
As many positives as there were, there were also negatives. Allowing two power-play goals, seeing Columbus tie it late with its goaltender pulled, subpar net-front play defensively, and getting beat to loose pucks.
“It was a real focal point of our heading into the game, the net play at both ends,” McLellan said. “We did a pretty job offensively and just an OK job defensively.”
Still, the resiliency was a good sign. Getting one point for the standings, when it looked like it was going to be a frustrating evening all the way around.
“I liked the way we stuck with it,” van Riemsdyk said. “Getting down there and kept battling and trying to claw our way back in, which we did.
“When you’re leading a game like that you’d like to get the two points but we played resilient and stuck with the process even if things didn’t go our way.”
tkulfan@detroitnews.com
@tkulfan
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