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 Brandon Dubinsky added a power-play goal for the Blue Jackets,
who have the most wins (37) and are tied with Detroit for the fewest
games played (72) among the four teams tied with 80 points.
Defenseman James Wisniewski notched three assists and Curtis
McElhinney made 22 saves in relief of an ill Sergei Bobrovsky, who
stopped nine shots in the first period.
Gustav Nyquist scored twice for the second straight contest to
extend his goal streak to six games while increasing his tallies to
20 in his last 24 contests. Tomas Tatar had a pair of assists and
Jimmy Howard turned aside 24 shots for the Red Wings, who occupy the
second wild card after playing one game less than Washington (73)
and two fewer than Toronto (74).
With the contest tied at 2-2, Atkinson capped a 2-on-1 rush by
backhanding Matt Calvert's feed into the goal as the net came off
its moorings. Officials reviewed the play and allowed the goal to
stand after determining that Detroit defenseman Brendan Smith pushed
Atkinson into the post. Johansen sealed the win with an empty-net
goal for his team-leading 29th tally.
After failing to score on its previous 36 power-play opportunities,
Columbus converted its first two attempts to seize the early lead.
Nyquist answered the barrage with one of his own, tapping home a
loose puck at 14:55 of the first period before forging a tie as the
puck caromed off both his skate and a trailing Johansen before
skidding into the back of the net.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Blue Jackets claimed the early lead as Johansen
cleaned up his own rebound just 95 seconds into the contest.
Dubinsky doubled the advantage at 12:46 after his attempted
centering feed caromed off the skate of Detroit D Danny DeKeyser and
into the net. ... Columbus recalled G Mike McKenna from Springfield
of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis because
Bobrovsky had flu-like symptoms. McKenna did not dress for this
contest, however.
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