In Columbus the Detroit Red Wings’ James Reimer made 23 saves in a 4-0 shut out of the Blue Jackets on Monday.
“That’s pretty much how you draw it up, right? The way the guys battled tonight was impressive,” Reimer said. “I’m happy and the stats are nice and it’s really special to get a shutout your first game.
“Honestly, it’s just a testament to our structure and our compete tonight. … Pretty special to see the way the guys worked and the way they buckled down.”
It was his 29th career shutout.
“James Reimer was the difference in the first period,” Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said. “We didn’t defend very well. We gave up some easy slot looks, which we haven’t really done through camp and through the early part of the year, and he bailed us out. Very fortunate to get out of the first period 1-0.”
Shayne Gostisbehere staked the Red Wings to all the offense they would need at 8:51 of the first and a 1-0 lead.
Michael Rasmussen pushed the advantage to 2-0 at 7:45 of the middle frame.
Dylan Larkin hit off the power play at 11:11 of the second for a 3-0 lead.
“We didn’t like our compete level, which sucks to be talking about because that should be expected but we’ve got to get better at that,” Blue Jackets forward Sean Kuraly said. “Puck management is a big thing for us. And we’ve been talking about it from day one, and that’s the same on every team. I think that’s where the frustration comes in with us — our puck management. We’re going to have to get better at that.”
The Blue Jackets were coming off a 5-3 win over the New York Rangers on Saturday.
Less than a minute later, Andrew Copp hit off another power play for a 4-0 lead.
“Our special teams are really important,” Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider said. “We want to be game-changers and I think we were tonight.”
Copp missed a penalty shot in the third period.
“It’s the mindset of how do we face adversity?” Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent said. “We tried to play too cute. The stick battles instead of taking the body. Just a simple foundation of a hockey game. They were winning more battles than we did. So, it means they have the puck and they can make plays.”
Spencer Martin made 24 saves in the Columbus loss.
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