Red Wings 2, Blue Jackets 0
Joey MacDonald turned aside all 37 shots he faced for his second career shutout as the Detroit Red Wings recorded a 2-0 road triumph over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday in a battle of Central Division rivals.
Drew Miller scored 33 seconds into the contest and Valtteri Filppula tallied for the second time in as many days for division-leading Detroit (43-20-8), which has won four in a row following a four-game swoon.
After traditional starter Jimmy Howard ended the Washington Capitals' season-high nine-game winning streak on Wednesday, MacDonald drew the start at Nationwide Arena. The 31-year-old Nova Scotia native made the most of his chance and collected his first shutout in nearly two years.
While playing for the New York Islanders, MacDonald blanked the Red Wings on March 27, 2009.
Miller opened the scoring after cleaning up a rebound off Darren Helm's shot and depositing the puck past Steve Mason for his eighth goal of the season. The 27-year-old New Jersey native has three goals and three assists against the Blue Jackets this season.
With Detroit on the power play, Filppula doubled the advantage nearly 11 minutes later after wristing a shot past Mason for his 15th tally of the campaign.
Mason finished with 25 saves for Columbus (32-28-10), which has dropped eight of its last nine games (1-4-4).