Turnabout is par for the course when it comes to the Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings coughing up leads against each other.
Almost two weeks after Detroit overcame a two-goal deficit in the third period to down Columbus 5-4 in overtime Nov. 22 at Little Caesar’s Arena, the Blue Jackets turned the tables Dec. 4 at Nationwide Arena.
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After coughing up three leads and trailing 5-4 with goalie Elvis Merzlikins on the bench for a 6-on-5 advantage, the Blue Jackets tied it 5-5 with 1:31 left in regulation on Adam Fantilli’s second goal of the game. It went to overtime and then a shootout decided by goals from Kent Johnson in the first round and Kirill Marchenko in the third to capture a 6-5 victory in front of 16,818.
Ivan Provorov, Marchenko and Johnson scored the other goals for the Blue Jackets (13-9-5), who got three assists each from Zach Werenski and Sean Monahan. Marchenko played for the first time since missing four games with a lower-body injury.
Alex DeBrincat put the Red Wings up 4-3 with 8:22 left in the third and Detroit’s other goals were scored by Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond, Patrick Kane and former Blue Jackets forward James van Riemsdyk. Cam Talbot started in net for the Red Wings (14-11-3).
Columbus went 2-for-3 on power plays, while Detroit went 3-for-5 and scored all three in the second period.
Detroit Red Wings right wing Alex Debrincat (93) scores past Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins (90) during the second period of the NHL hockey game at Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Dec. 4, 2025.
The Jackets coughed up eight third period leads prior to the game, and Kane’s goal made it nine in the season’s first 27 games to tie it 4-4 at 9:35 of the third. It was the Blue Jackets’ third blown lead of the game and led to DeBrincat’s go-ahead goal.
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Luckily for the Jackets, Fantilli’s shot from the high slot during 6-on-5 with time running thin in regulation hit a Red Wings defender and bounced past Talbot to tie it, forcing another game to OT.
Everything prior that was a rollercoaster too.
Provorov’s goal was the only one in the first period, which ended with the Blue Jackets leading 1-0, but each team scored three times in the second. That included the Red Wings scoring all three of their goals on power plays to stay in the game.
Two were scored during Dmitri Voronkov’s four-minute penalty for accidentally high-sticking Andrew Copp in the face while falling to the ice trying to check him. Raymond and van Riemsdyk capped both ends of that double-minor with goals, pulling the Red Wings even, 3-3, to overcome their second two-goal deficit in as many games against Columbus this season.
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Detroit also overcame the Blue Jackets’ 1-0 edge on Larkin’s power-play goal at 1:09 of the second, just 31 seconds of game time after Provorov was sent to the penalty box for intentionally dislodging the Columbus net.
Marchenko, who scored on a power play, and Johnson tallied goals 1:53 apart to give the Jackets a 3-1 lead at 7:11 of the second, and Fantilli closed out the scoring in the period with 6:10 left on a power play for his 10th goal of the season.
That set the stage for the third with the Blue Jackets leading 4-3, needing to protect another lead that ultimately vanished. Good thing turnabout was fair play.
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets overcome Red Wings’ late lead to win 6-5 in shootout