Blue Jackets Rally in Third, Beat Red Wings 5-4

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Oliver Bjorkstrand, Boone Jenner and Eric Robinson scored in the third period, and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Detroit Red Wings 5-4 Thursday night.

Jenner beat Jimmy Howard with a sharp-angle shot 8:43 into the third, 63 seconds after Bjorkstrand’s tying power-play goal. Robinson made it 5-3 before Detroit’s Tyler Bertuzzi scored with 3:14 left.

Alexandre Texier and Cam Atkinson also scored, Joonas Korpisalo made 22 saves, and Columbus won its third straight.

Bertuzzi had two goals, and Filip Hronek and Luke Glendening also scored for Detroit, which has lost four straight. Howard made 32 saves.

Tyler Bertuzzi - Red Wings
Tyler Bertuzzi, Detroit Red Wings – Dec. 18, 2018 (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Detroit, hampered by multiple injuries, came in tied with the Los Angeles Kings with the lowest point total in the NHL (17).

Texier got the Blue Jackets on the board 5:37 into the first when he batted his own rebound from in front. Bertuzzi tied it later in the first when he rifled a slap shot from the top of the right circle past a partially screened Korpisalo.

Atkinson got an easy tap-in off Seth Jones’ pass during a 5-on-3 power play to put the Blue Jackets up 2-1 early in the second. Detroit got its own 5-on-3 opportunity for over a minute late in the second but the Blue Jackets killed it, allowing just one shot.

Hronek tied it later in the second when his shot went in off the leg of Jones, who had sprawled trying to block it in front of Korpisalo. Forty-four seconds later, Glendening put the Red Wings ahead 3-2 with a short-handed goal on an odd-man breakaway after the Blue Jackets turned over the puck at the blue line.

Red Wings defenseman Filip Hronek
Red Wings defenseman Filip Hronek (Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)

Bertuzzi got a late goal after Detroit pulled the goalie to create a 6-on-5 situation but couldn’t get any more.

NOTES

Columbus captain Nick Foligno returned from a three-game suspension for elbowing Colorado forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare on Nov. 9. F Riley Nash was scratched to make room. … Detroit D Mike Green did not play after being injured against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday. F Darren Helm (lower body) also was an injury scratch. … Bertuzzi has eight points in seven games. … Robby Fabbri has eight points in seven games since being traded to the Red Wings by the St. Louis Blues on Nov. 8.

UP NEXT

Red Wings: At New Jersey on Saturday night.

Blue Jackets: Host Ottawa on Monday.

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Mitch Stacy, The Associated Press