The Detroit Red Wings overcame a two-goal lead loss to secure a thrilling 5-4 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Thursday night.
Head coach Todd McLellan said, “The finish is what we were looking for, not necessarily the road map we had to get there. But we said we’d find out a little bit about our team. We found out that there’s some resiliency in the group.”
Goaltender Cam Talbot made 21 saves for Detroit (16-18-4; 36 points), who claimed their third consecutive victory. Columbus (16-17-6; 38 points) had 21 saves from Elvis Merzlikins.
Alex DeBrincat, who scored a power-play goal and had two assists, commented, “There’s no quit… our PK does a great job, and Berggy scores after that. I think we’re not getting down on the bench when we have a momentum swing. We just keep working to get that momentum back and it’s been going well for us.”
Columbus took the lead early with a power-play goal just 2:42 into the game. James van Riemsdyk deflected a shot from Coll Sillinger. Detroit responded at 6:55 when Patrick Kane scored his eighth goal of the season after a scramble in front of the net.
Erik Gustafsson’s first goal as a Red Wing gave Detroit the lead at 14:39 of the first period, followed by DeBrincat’s short-side goal at 17:09 for a 3-1 lead. The Red Wings outshot the Blue Jackets 12-7 in the first period.
DeBrincat shared, “If we can get that momentum and feel good about ourselves early in the game, it helps us go a long way.”
However, Columbus bounced back in the second period, tying the game at 3-3. Zach Werenski scored at 11:06, and Sean Monahan added another goal at 18:40.
McLellan noted, “In the second period, we let the game get away from us a little bit… we got caught tired and they scored two right near the end of a period.”
Detroit regained the lead at 4:54 of the third period when Dylan Larkin scored a power-play goal with a one-timer from the slot, assisted by Kane and DeBrincat.
DeBrincat praised Larkin, saying, “He’s our best player, I think. When he’s going, we’re winning games.”
At 17:19 of the third, van Riemsdyk’s second goal tied the game 4-4. Detroit challenged the play for goaltender interference but the call stood.
McLellan said, “We’re coming to play to win. There was a gamble aspect to our call. We also have confidence in our penalty killers, and they came through for us.”
With just 36 seconds remaining in the game, Jonatan Berggren scored his first career NHL game-winning goal on a breakaway after being released from the penalty box. The goal was set up by a blocked shot from Ben Chiarot and a diving play by Tyler Motte.
Berggren shared, “When you’re sitting in the penalty box, you kind of hope it comes like that… this time it was lucky.”
Berggren’s goal was the second go-ahead goal in the final minute of regulation this season for the Red Wings. The first was by Lucas Raymond against the New York Islanders on November 21.
DeBrincat praised the team, saying, “Our PK did an unbelievable job there… it’s great to get those two points and keep battling.”
McLellan did not provide an update on Jeff Petry, who left the game midway through the third period.
