Detroit Red Wings knot it up with Blue Jackets in wild third, but lose, 5-4, in OT
The Detroit Red Wings livened things up in one of their few remaining home games, injecting some energy with two late goals.
Their Saturday evening match at Little Caesars Arena against the Columbus Blue Jackets began shortly after the Wings had been eliminated from playoff contention for a sixth straight year. It was pretty sedate until the third period, when Dylan Larkin and Jakub Vrana scored less than a minute apart. The Wings ended up losing, 5-4, in overtime.
Jack Roslovic completed a hat trick when he scored at 3:19 into the extra period. Alex Nedeljkovic made 34 saves.
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Vrana continued his impressive output since making his season debut March 8 after missing the first 56 games recovering from shoulder surgery, scoring off a turnover. Sam Gagner also continued his roll, adding his fourth goal in three games.
It was 2-2 going into the third period. Roslovic scored his second of the game on a rebound at 4:04, and Justin Danforth added to the lead seconds after the Wings had killed off a weak hooking call on Tyler Bertuzzi.
Larkin, who appeared in his 500th game, netted his 31st goal at 15:35. Vrana added his second of the night off a draw, at 16:33.
The Wings (28-34-10) next play Tuesday against the Ottawa Senators, one of three games remaining at LCA.
Grab momentum, lose momentum
Gagner scored his 12th goal when he took a cross-slot feed from fellow veteran Marc Staal at the bottom of the right circle and tapped the puck into Columbus' net. That was at 17:21 of the second. The lead lasted 40 seconds. Cole Sillinger (the son of Mike Sillinger, who was the Wings' first-round pick in 1989) took a backhand pass from Zach Werenski and snapped a shot behind Nedeljkovic.
Gift one, take one
It was an even game through the first, but the Blue Jackets took the lead at 13:14. Larkin won a race to the puck along the boards, and attempted to play the puck towards Bertuzzi and Lucas Raymond, who were both skating towards the blue line for a breakout. Roslovic intercepted the pass, turned and fired a shot top shelf on Nedeljkovic. Raymond put the puck into Columbus' net midway through the second period, but officials waved off the goal because Joe Veleno ran into Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins. The Wings finally got one that counted at 13:41 when Vrana intercepted Adam Boqvist's pass, skated up ice and scored five-hole on Merzlikins.
Gain one, lose one
Mitchell Stephens returned to the lineup for the first time since suffering a lower-body injury Nov. 13, when he had four points and a minus-5 rating in 16 games. Stephens brings energy and is suited to centering the fourth line, and it's huge for him to at least get into this last stretch of games and try to earn a job for next season. Defenseman Jake Walman, who likewise is auditioning for a contract extension since being acquired at the trade deadline, was absent from the game because of an upper-body injury. Jordan Oesterle subbed in, partnering with Gustav Lindstrom.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings knot up Blue Jackets in 3rd, but lose, 5-4, in OT
