Red Wings punched out by Blue Jackets when they take it outdoors

Ted Kulfan, The Detroit News on Mar 1, 2025

Published in Hockey

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COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Stadium Series was a success, and players and fans at Ohio Stadium will remember the evening a long time.

For the Detroit Red Wings, though, it'll always be a little less than ideal because of the end result, a 5-3 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night.

Justin Danforth split between Simon Edvinsson and Albert Johansson, raced to the net and put back his own rebound past goaltender Cam Talbot at 17 minutes 43 seconds, giving Columbus the 4-3 lead and Adam Fantilli added an empty net goal for the Blue Jackets.

Alex DeBrincat's second goal of the game, his 29th goal, tied the game 3-3 at 3:30. After J.T. Compher's faceoff win, the Wings controlled the puck and DeBrincat snapped a shot from near the hashmarks.

The Blue Jackets moved ahead of the Wings in the wild-card standings (68-66 points), with Boston two points behind the Wings for the final wild-card spot.

Dimitri Voronkov (power play) and Mathieu Olivier scored goals 32 seconds apart late in the second period, breaking a 1-1 tie.

The Wings outshot Columbus 46-20.

Patrick Kane cut the Columbus lead to 3-2 at 3:34 of the third period. Kane lifted a wrist shot from near the top of the left circle, his 15th goal, sparking the Wings fans in the attendance of 94,751, the second largest in NHL history (surpassed only by the 105,491 for the Wings' game against Toronto at The Big House in Ann Arbor in 2014).

DeBrincat (power play) scored his 28th goal, tying the game 1-1 in the second period. Patrick Kane found DeBrincat with inside position near the post and DeBrincat tapped the puck past goaltender Elvis Merzlikins.

The Wings were 1 for 2 on the power play and have scored 10 goals in their last 21 attempts.

Voronkov broke the tie with his 20th goal, getting position net-front and knocking Kent Johnson's pass past Talbot at 17:23 of the second period. Olivier made it 3-1 with his 12th goal, 32 seconds later, gathering the puck behind the net and curling it between the post and Talbot.

The memories and scenes of the game, the weekend for that matter, will not be forgotten quickly.

Before the game, the Wings and Jackets honored late Columbus player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew, who were killed Aug. 29 after being hit by a suspected drunk driver while driving their bikes.

The Wings walked into the stadium with jerseys the Gaudreaus wore during their careers, including Boston College, where both brothers played, and Team USA, which Johnny represented on multiple occasions.

Gaudreau's mother and wife, along with their two kids, led the Jackets onto the ice before the game.

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