Danforth’s late goal lifts Blue Jackets over Red Wings in Stadium Series
Published
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Justin Danforth scored with 2:17 remaining to lift the Columbus Blue Jackets over Detroit 5-3 on Saturday night in the Stadium Series, leapfrogging the Red Wings to take sole possession of the first Eastern Conference wild-card spot.
Denton Mateychuk notched the team’s first-ever outdoor goal, Dmitri Voronkov and Mathieu Olivier scored 32 seconds apart in the second period, and Adam Fantilli added an empty-netter.
Elvis Merzlikins made 43 stops to help Columbus beat Detroit for the second time in three days and win its fourth straight.
Alex DeBrincat scored twice to extend his point streak to nine games. Patrick Kane added a goal, and Cam Talbot made 16 stops for Detroit, which snapped a five-game road win streak and clings to the second wild-card spot.
The 43rd outdoor game in league history was Columbus’ first and played before a crowd of 94,751 at Ohio Stadium.
Takeaways
Detroit: The Red Wings took early control of the puck, outshooting Columbus 14-6 in the first period but fell behind in the second. Despite dominating the third period, they had no answer for Columbus’ late goals.
Columbus: With a game-time temperature of 29.4 degrees and gusts up to 18 mph, Columbus took time to warm up before scoring three second-period goals. The Blue Jackets stayed calm and overcame Detroit’s third-period surge.
Key moment
DeBrincat pulled Detroit even from a two-goal deficit with 3:24 left, but Danforth responded just over a minute later. Fantilli added an insurance empty-netter with 1:08 left.
Key stat
The 2025 Stadium Series marked the third outdoor game in NHL history involving teams tied in points entering play but the first featuring two teams tied for the same playoff spot after the season’s midpoint. It was the first time since April 13, 2014, that Detroit and Columbus were both in a playoff position this late in the season.
Up next
Both teams return to action Tuesday, with the Red Wings hosting Carolina and the Blue Jackets visiting Tampa Bay.
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