Zach Werenski scored with 79 seconds remaining in regulation to give the Columbus Blue Jackets the lead in a 5-3 win over the visiting Detroit Red Wings on Monday.
After Yegor Chinakhov’s first career NHL goal equalized for the Jackets at 15:42 of the final frame, the stage was set for Werenski’s game-winner. The defenseman’s slap shot from just inside the blue line found its way past traffic in front of the net for Werenski’s third goal of the season.
Chinakhov and Boone Jenner each had a goal and an assist for the Blue Jackets, while Gustav Nyquist had two assists. Adam Boqvist and Alexandre Texier also scored for Columbus, with Texier scoring an empty-netter in the final three seconds of play.
Lucas Raymond scored at 13:31 of the third period to give Detroit a 3-2 lead. The 19-year-old also had an assist, giving Raymond 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) in his first 17 NHL games.
Dylan Larkin also had a goal and an assist for the Red Wings. Michael Rasmussen scored Detroit’s other goal.
At 14:45 of the first period, the Blue Jackets couldn’t clear a loose puck in front of their net. Raymond got a stick on the puck and threaded a pass to an open Larkin on the left side, and Larkin converted for the opening score.
It was Larkin’s seventh goal of the season, and his fourth goal in as many games.
Elvis Merzlikins looked generally sharp in stopping 24 of 27 shots, but the Columbus goalie was visibly dismayed after Rasmussen’s goal in the second period. Rasmussen fired a seemingly innocuous shot from outside the circle that beat Merzlikins for the Wings forward’s first goal of the season.
Trailing the Red Wings 2-0 despite a big advantage in shots, the Jackets’ pressure eventually paid off with two quick goals later in the second period. Jenner scored his team-leading seventh goal at 13:07 of the second frame, and Boqvist followed up with the equalizer less than two minutes later.
Boqvist was back in the Columbus lineup after missing seven games due to injury. Acquired in an offseason trade with the Chicago Blackhawks, Boqvist’s goal was his first in a Blue Jackets uniform.
Detroit goalie Thomas Greiss stopped 33 of 37 shots in the losing effort.
–Field Level Media