These 2 teams met for the 2nd time in 4 days with Columbus looking for revenge after Detroit put 5 past them last time out. Detroit were looking for a better result than the 7-1 beating they had at the hands of Washington on Saturday night.
It didn’t start well for the Redwings however as RJ Umberger only took 21 seconds to pick up a rebound in front of the net and put the puck underneath Ty Conklin. Conklin had an awful game against Washington and didn’t start this one very promising either.
Columbus put the pressure on the Detroit net early but a slashing penalty on Clitsome gave the Redwings the chance to ease that pressure. The blue Jackets killed the penalty with relative ease but Darren Helm managed to get the puck past Mason not long after as good work by Abdelkader behind the net allowed Helm the chance to force the puck in on the near side.
This signalled a goaltending change for Columbus as Mason looked to have taken a knock to his shoulder on that earlier Detroit powerplay and Alan York came in for his NHL debut. It didn’t last long however as Mason went to the bench, seemed ok and was back in net within a few minutes.
Columbus got their 1st powerplay of the game and retook the lead as Johansen got his 1st NHL goal, picking up a wide shot behind the net and banking the puck in off the back of Conklin. Columbus had the early step on Detroit through the opening 10 minutes which continued through the period but Detroit managed to keep the score at 2-1 despite being outshot 14-6.
The Blue Jackets should have taken a 3-1 lead at the start of the 2nd as Dorsett had a puck come back off the post as the puck bounced underneath Conklin and looked as if it was going to roll over the line.
It took until the final 5 minutes of the 2nd before we saw another goal go in as Columbus took a 3-1 lead as John Moore got his 1st NHL goal with a shot from the blue line that deflected in high over Conklin off Drew Miller.
An early powerplay for Columbus in the 3rd should have seen them take a 4-1 lead as Brassard put the puck against the post as he tried to squeeze a rebound off a Wisniewski shot in at the side of the net. The third period played out pretty evenly with neither team creating any outstanding chances, pretty much like the 2nd period. Detroit spent far too much time in the penalty box to create any momentum to try and get back into the game and even a late Columbus penalty only brought more misery to Detroit as they conceded a 4th on the empty net with Conklin pulled.
Detroit were poor for the 2nd game running but take nothing away from Columbus who played good pressure hockey to keep the Redwings at bay and took their chances when they got them. Mason was solid when he needed to be as were his defensive unit around him. The Blue Jackets finally winning a game this season after 9 attempts.
- Adam Yates
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