Red Wings get victory; Blue Jackets get angry

Columbus was upset over Kirk Maltby's hit on Rostislav Klesla.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- On the night Robert Lang scored his first goal as a member of the Red Wings, Detroit's Kirk Maltby received most of the opposition's postgame attention.
The Columbus Blue Jackets were infuriated after Maltby's hit against defenseman Rostislav Klesla late in the third period of Detroit's 3-2 win Wednesday night.
"Gutless," Columbus general manager Doug MacLean called the hit.
Klesla was checked by Maltby into the open Detroit bench door jamb and remained down on the ice for several minutes before being helped to the dressing room. Preliminary reports said Klesla had a badly bruised thigh.
"You can't say he [Maltby] didn't see the door open because it was open for four seconds -- we watched it on video," Columbus interim coach Gerard Gallant said. "He just drove him into the door."
Maltby was aware the Blue Jackets were angry.
"I'm backchecking. I can't see who's coming on, who's coming off, if the door's closed or not," Maltby said. "I'm not trying to hurt the guy. It was a foot race."
No penalty was called, and Columbus fans jeered the Red Wings with an obscene chant in the closing minutes. At almost the same time, Detroit fans ran down to the glass and tossed two octopi on the ice, a Red Wings tradition, in celebration.
Big win
Detroit's fourth straight win gave the Red Wings 107 points, clinching the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs. They also have a three-point lead over Tampa Bay in the race for the NHL's best record.
"We're really thrilled to win the West," coach Dave Lewis said. "It's one of the goals we talked about right around the All-Star break. To go through some of the trials and tribulations we've gone through, I think it's a real reward for our guys."
Lang played his first game after missing 11 with a rib injury. His previous goal was Feb. 25, two days before he was traded from Washington to the Red Wings.
Lang's 30th goal came with 10:57 left when he got past Andrew Cassels and tapped a loose puck by goaltender Marc Denis.
"I had myself a little mini-breakaway," Lang said. "It was nice to get my first goal as a Red Wing."
Tomas Holmstrom had a goal and an assist in the third period, and Maltby also scored for Detroit.
Manny Legace finished with 30 saves, weathering heavy pressure during seven scoreless Columbus power plays.