Van Riemsdyk scores pair as Blue Jackets defeat Red Wings in wild card chase
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DETROIT (AP) — James van Riemsdyk scored twice and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Detroit Red Wings 5-2 on Thursday night in a matchup of playoff contenders.
Sean Kuraly, Kent Johnson and Kirill Marchenko also scored for the Blue Jackets, who moved into a tie with Detroit at 66 points for the two Eastern Conference wild cards. Columbus captain Boone Jenner had three assists.
Alex DeBrincat and J.T. Compher scored for the Red Wings.
DeBrincat opened the scoring 27 seconds into the second period, beating Blue Jackets goalie Daniil Tarasov from the edge of his crease.
Van Riemsdyk pulled Columbus even, redirecting Jake Christiansen’s point shot past netminder Cam Talbot.
Kuraly gave Columbus the lead, jamming a puck past Talbot from close range.
Johnson made it 3-1 in similar fashion to van Riemsdyk’s goal.
Stationed at the front of the net, he deflected Dante Fabbro’s point shot past Talbot.
Van Riemsdyk added his second of the night to make it 4-1, converting Jenner's feed from the slot.
Detroit got one back on the power play when Compher scored. It was the ninth Red Wings power-play goal in the last five games.
Marchenko completed the scoring with an empty-net goal.
Tarasov finished with 29 saves. Talbot stopped 25 shots.
Takeaways
Blue Jackets: Kuraly had a third-period goal disallowed when it was ruled he directed the puck into the net with a distinct kicking motion.
Red Wings: DeBrincat’s goal was his 27th of the season, equaling his total from last season and extending his point streak to eight games. ... Detroit center Michael Rasumussen (upper-body injury) was out for the third consecutive game.
Key moment
Referee Mitch Dunning originally waved off Kuraly’s goal, ruling he’d batted it in with his glove. Replays showed Kuraly did swat the puck to the ice before shooting it into the net, and the call was overturned.
Key stat
Van Riemsdyk has four goals in two games against the Red Wings this season.
Up next
The Blue Jackets and Red Wings face each other again on Saturday outdoors at Ohio Stadium in the NHL Stadium Series.
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