Detroit City Wire

On Thursday night, the Detroit Red Wings faced a setback in their match against the Columbus Blue Jackets, losing 5-2 at Little Caesars Arena. This game marked the first half of a home-and-home series that will conclude with the 2025 NHL Stadium Series at Ohio Stadium.

Detroit's goalie Cam Talbot made 25 saves, while Columbus' Danil Tarasov finished with 29 saves. Both teams are now tied for the Eastern Conference’s first Wild-Card spot with 66 points each.

Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan acknowledged the challenges faced by his team: “You look at the type of opportunities we gave us, anything up high we had opportunities to knock pucks down with our bodies and be in shooting lanes, and we weren’t.” He praised Talbot's performance: “The one guy that did a real good job in and around that area was (Talbot). I thought he made some incredible saves.”

In a scoreless first period, Talbot denied Blue Jackets captain Booner Jenner on a breakaway. Lucas Raymond came close for Detroit during a power play but hit the post.

Alex DeBrincat extended his point streak to eight games by scoring his club-leading 27th goal just 27 seconds into the second period. J.T. Compher assisted DeBrincat’s goal. McLellan commended DeBrincat's effort: “If you could have took him and rubbed him on a few of our other guys tonight, we’d have a real good chance.”

Columbus responded with four consecutive goals in the second period. James van Riemsdyk tipped Jake Christiansen’s shot past Talbot to tie it at 1-1. Sean Kuraly then scored to give Columbus a lead they would not relinquish.

Moritz Seider emphasized defensive adjustments needed: “We got to be in the shooting lane in the first place and then as defensemen, we just got to pick up sticks.”

Compher scored for Detroit on their second power play of the night, narrowing Columbus’ lead to 4-2 before Kirill Marchenko sealed it with an empty-net goal.

Looking ahead to Saturday's game, Compher noted: “Tomorrow is the day for fun -- skating with family... When we get to Saturday, its normal routine.”

McLellan remarked on Columbus’ style: “Their heaviness was directing pucks to the net... We’ve worked in practice on some body position... I thought we did a real poor job of doing some of the hard things tonight.”

Seider reflected on handling pressure from Columbus: “They close quick... Other than that, we just got out competed today.” He added about future prospects: "Obviously, it’s going to be special but we got to come up with two points no matter what."