Another tough one against the team from up north.
Austin Czarnik and Dominik Kubalik each scored in the first period, Lucas Raymond added a power-play goal, and Andrew Copp scored the insurance tally to lift the Detroit Red Wings over the Columbus Blue Jackets, 4-2, on Sunday at Nationwide Arena.
Filip Hronek, David Perron, and Olli Maata each had two assists. Jonathan Berggren and Oskar Sundqvist also had an assist. Sundqvist has a three-game points streak (three goals, one assist).
Marcus Bjork and Kent Johnson each scored for Columbus. Boone Jenner had two assists to continue a three-game points streak (one goal, three assists). Jack Roslovic and Johnny Gaudreau each had one assist.
Ville Husso made 32 saves as Detroit stopped a three-game losing streak. Joonas Korpisalo made 31 saves.
Consistently Inconsistent
You never know what to expect from this team. One trend that's bearing out is their record after wins.
After perhaps their best win of the year in Winnipeg against the Jets on Friday, with Patrik Laine scoring twice in his return to the lineup and Korpisalo making 37 saves for the 4-1 win, the Jackets looked to carry over that momentum to Sunday's game.
The Red Wings were coming off a loss on Saturday, 4-1, to the Vegas Golden Knights at Little Caesars Arena. Husso returned to the net for the rare back-to-back start, which didn't bother him, as he scored his second win this season against Columbus. Detroit is 3-0-0 in back-to-back games this season.
The Blue Jackets are 2-5-1 following a win this season.
Johnson scored his sixth of the year 1:58 into the third period. Gaudreau pulled off the highlight reel play for the assist as he skated the puck all the way from the blue line to behind the net before the dish for his team-leading 18th assist and 26th point. He's on a four-game points streak (one goal, seven assists).
Since Jan. 1, Gaudreau is tied for the league lead with 72 assists with Connor McDavid.
Years of this to look forward to. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/5aBlXykBym
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) December 5, 2022
Johnson was +1 in 15:18 with one goal and two shots. He's on a two-game points streak (one goal, one assist). Sunday's loss is the second game all season that Johnson has played at least 15:00. He played a career-high 17:21 against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 22. Gaudreau had one assist, to go with three shots, and was +1 in 20:50.
Head coach Brad Larsen won an off-sides challenge that kept the score at 3-2 before Copp's third-period goal at 6:08.
Similar to the first matchup, the Jackets turned over the puck too many times, with 10 giveaways to Detroit's eight.
#CBJ D Vladislav Gavrikov is back on the ice. He went to the locker room early in the second period after taking a puck to the face.
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) December 5, 2022
Jenner is the team's leading scorer (three assists) against Detroit in two meetings this year.
Special Teams
Columbus took five penalties in the game with Detroit scoring twice on the power play.
Raymond's goal at 7:03 of the second period occurred on a 5-on-3 chance with Gavin Bayreuther and Jack Roslovic both in the box. Of course, it's a lot to ask from your penalty kill to be perfect on five opportunities.
But it wasn't all bad. After finishing in the top five for the month of November on the power play (29.6%), the Blue Jackets registered their first December tally with the man advantage when Marcus Bjork scored his second goal of the season—first at home—to cut the deficit to two.
The power play looked as good as it has all season and Marcus Bjork made it count with his second goal of the year. Jenner, Roslovic. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/pQfNXVFV6s
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) December 5, 2022
The penalty kill for Columbus was three-for-five. The power play was one-for-three.
Winged Wheel Turning?
After the Red Wings dominated the series against Columbus in the 2000s, going 41-10-1-5 between 2000-01 and 2009-10, the tide has turned as the Blue Jackets are 30-16-5 since 2010-11.
However, Detroit has taken both meetings so far this season, winning 6-1 on Nov. 19 at Nationwide Arena, and again tonight, 4-2. The win gives Detroit the season series victory for the first time since 2015-16 when the two teams went 1-1-1. Detroit last won the season series in 2011-12 (4-2-0).
The final meeting takes place at Little Caesars Arena on Jan. 14.
After a three-point game (one goal, two assists) in the first meeting, Hronek (two goals, two assists) leads the Wings with four points against Columbus this year.
Steel City
The Blue Jackets head to Pittsburgh on Tuesday to face the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena at 7:00 pm ET. It's the first of a back-to-back as Columbus will face the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday at Nationwide Arena at 7:30 pm ET. The Blue Jackets fell to the Penguins, 6-3, on Oct. 22 at Nationwide Arena.
