Johnson, Blue Jackets outlast Red Wings in shootout
DETROIT -- Jack Johnson beat Jimmy Howard in the ninth round of the shootout to earn the Columbus Blue Jackets a 2-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.
The Blue Jackets halted a four-game losing skid with the victory, while the Red Wings lost for the second game in a row. Detroit's 12-game winning streak in shootouts also was brought to an end.
Artemi Panarin opened the scoring 67 seconds into the game for the Blue Jackets, while Andreas Athanasiou replied 6:11 into the third period.
Niklas Kronwall passed cross crease to Athanasiou, whose quick shot found the back of the net before Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (32 saves) could slide from post to post.
The Blue Jackets wasted little time in opening the scoring. A turnover by Red Wings forward Darren Helm while his team was in the midst of a change led to trouble. David Savard fed a quick dump up the boards past Detroit players Frans Nielsen and Jonathan Ericsson. Oliver Bjorkstrand corralled the puck and fed a wide-open Panarin, who redirected Bjorkstrand's feed past Detroit goalie Howard (31 saves).
In the final minute of the opening period, Blue Jackets forward Josh Anderson was foiled on a penalty shot by Howard, who got his glove on the shot. Anderson was awarded the penalty shot after being hooked by Detroit defenseman Mike Green while on a breakaway.
Detroit has lost eight of nine this season when surrendering the first goal of the game. It also fell to 2-3-1 at home this season.
NOTES: The Red Wings played without LW Justin Abdelkader, who suffered a fractured cheekbone in Thursday's loss at Calgary. Abdelkaker will have his injury assessed by a specialist Monday. ... Red Wings D Danny DeKeyser (sprained ankle) missed his 15th game in a row. ... LW David Booth was a healthy scratch. ... Blue Jackets C Zac Dalpe (upper body) missed his third straight game. .... LW Sonny Milano and D Scott Harrington were healthy scratches. ... C Lukas Sedlak (ankle) and LW Matt Calvert (upper body) are on injured reserve. ... Linesman David Brisebois briefly left the game early in the first period after hitting his head on the ice. Columbus D Markus Nutivaara lost his footing and accidentally took the legs out from under Brisebois.