Late strike drives Columbus over Red Wings

In Columbus, the Blue Jackets rallied from a 2-3 deficit in the third period with three straight goals to take a 5-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Monday night.

Zach Werenski hot for the game-winner with 79 seconds left in regulation.

“For us, it’s belief in the room,” Werenski said. “We are going to find ways to win. That’s what we’ve been doing. When they took the lead, nobody panicked. If we stick to our game plan, we are going to win.”

Detroit had taken the 3-2 lead at the 13:31 mark of the third.

Elvis Merzlikins made 24 saves in the Columbus win.

Dylan Larkin and Michael Rasmussen  hit for goals to give the Red Wings a 2-0 lead.

“We were poised, we made plays, but just when we got the lead we didn’t keep our foot on the gas and keep playing and keep making it hard on them,” Larkin said. “Teams are too good, the League is too tight every night to play half the game. We’ve got to play a full 60 minutes.”

The Red Wings dropped to 8-7-2.

“I thought our first [period] was good and then after that I didn’t think we played good enough hockey,” Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill said. “I thought we’re fortunate to have the lead, to be honest, and we made a couple of mistakes, and the next thing you know it slips away from you.

“We’ve talked about learning lessons while we’re winning. But sometimes you’ve got to get slapped in the face, and we got slapped in the face tonight.”

Boone Jenner and Adam Boqvist rallied the Jackets to a 2-2 tie.

“We were talking on the bench that there’s no point in getting frustrated,” Blue Jackets head coach Brad Larsen said. “We said, ‘We have a lot of game here.'”

Columbus improved to 8-5-0.

The Blue Jackets’ Yegor Chinakhov tied the at 3-3 at 15:42 of the third period.

“He’s had a lot of chances,” Boqvist said. “Good to see for that guy, he’s working hard every day. Pretty good shot as well. When he saw it go in, the fans went crazy.”

Columbus’ Alexandre Texier popped in an empty-net goal for the 5-3 final.

Thomas Greiss made 33 saves in the Detroit loss.