Blue Jackets outlasted in shootout
The Red Wings won their first shootout of the season, 4-3.
DETROIT (AP) -- The Detroit Red Wings had to wait a long time for a shootout, but it turned out to be worth it.
Going into its 35th game of the season as the only NHL team not to have been involved in a shootout, Detroit got goals from Pavel Datsyuk and Jason Williams after a scoreless five-minute overtime period for a 4-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night.
Jaroslav Balastik scored in the shootout for Columbus, but Detroit goalie Chris Osgood stopped Rick Nash and former Red Wing Sergei Fedorov.
Balastik was the first shooter and he beat Osgood high to the glove side.
Datsyuk then scored his goal by making a move on Pascal Leclaire and putting a forehand shot over the goalie's pads.
Osgood then stopped Nash, who tried to go to his backhand after a move and Williams scored by sliding the puck under Leclaire after a couple of moves.
Osgood clinches win
Osgood then stopped Fedorov's high, hard wrist shot with his shoulder to clinch the win for the Red Wings.
"I just stayed out high (in the crease), too high for him to shoot it," said Osgood. "Even if he would have gotten it higher, I think it would have went over the net."
Robert Lang, Mark Mowers and Brendan Shanahan scored for the Red Wings and Brett Lebda added two assists.
Nash, Duvie Westcott and Nikolai Zherdev had goals for Columbus and Fedorov had two assists.
The Blue Jackets lost their fourth straight.
Zherdev tied the game at 3 for the Blue Jackets with 4:09 left in regulation, when he beat Osgood on a wrap around.
"We were coming from behind the whole game and I'm proud of this room," said Fedorov.
Shanahan scores 20th goal
Shanahan tipped Nicklas Lidstrom's shot from the point out of mid-air, from the high slot, past Pascal Leclaire to give the Red Wings a 3-2 lead with 9:20 remaining. It was Shanahan's 20th goal of the season, giving him 17 consecutive seasons with at least 20 goals.
Columbus tied the game at 2 at 8:30 of the third period on a power-play goal by Westcott. His one-time slap shot from the top of the right circle, off a pass from Fedorov, beat Osgood
Detroit led 2-1 after the first period, in which it outshot Columbus 19-5.
"We were real good at the start, but not too good after that," said Red Wings' coach Mike Babcock.
Lang, who returned after missing eight games with a groin injury, opened the scoring 4:16 into the game, when he tipped Lebda's shot from the point into the empty side of the Columbus net. The Blue Jackets tied it with 6:47 remaining in the opening period when Nash beat Osgood between the pads from in front of the net as he was being dragged down.
The Red Wings regained the lead with 3:33 left in the period, when Mowers tipped in another shot by Lebda.
"If it wasn't for Leclaire, it would have been 3-0 after the first period," said Columbus coach Gerard Gallant.
Osgood likes the shootout ... so far.
"It's fun to win 'em," he said. "I don't know if it's going to be fun if you lose 'em."