#LGRW Final: Red Wings come up short in Columbus series opener, 3-2

DETROIT -- The Columbus Blue Jackets scored three unanswered goals after the Detroit Red Wings jumped out to a 1-0 lead, and secured their first win of the season, 3-2, at Little Caesars Arena on Monday afternoon.

For the second consecutive home series, the Red Wings (1-2) dropped the opening game. Detroit and Columbus will wrap up the series on Tuesday night at Little Caesars Arena.
In a tightly contested game between the new division rivals, Detroit outshot the Blue Jackets, 37-29. Columbus goalie Joonas Korpisalo made 35 saves to record his first win of the season, while Red Wings' netminder Thomas Greiss stopped 26 shots, but fell to 0-2 in the early campaign.
"I thought we competed hard, to a pretty good level," said Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill. "We've got to keep competing at that really, really high level. I thought the first part of the game, we played real good. I don't think they were playing to the top of their game in the first (period), but I thought we were skating really good. I thought the second half of the game, they seemed to find their legs and skated us a little bit as the game went along. So we've got to be better as the game goes along."
For the second consecutive game, forward Bobby Ryan gave the Red Wings a 1-0 advantage, capitalizing on a face-off won by center Michael Rasmussen at the 13:00 mark of the opening period.

The puck slid directly to his right-handed stick following the face-off, and the ensuing one-timer found the back of the net with Rasmussen assisting and picking up his first point of the season. At the end of the first period, the Red Wings held a 13-8 advantage on shots.
Neither team scored for the opening 15 minutes of the second period, until Oliver Bjorkstrand tied the game, 1-1, at the 4:49 mark. After the Red Wings blocked a shot, Bjorkstrand gathered the puck in a prime shooting position and beat Greiss for his first goal of the season.
Just over a minute later, Greiss kept the game tied by making a no-look save after an aggressive chance by Boone Jenner. Despite Columbus controlling momentum for much of the period, the Red Wings outshot the Blue Jackets, 13-12, in the second frame.

Columbus was on the attack from the start of the third period, lighting the lamp twice in the opening seven minutes. Alexandre Texier scored on a wraparound to give the Blue Jackets a 2-1 lead at 14:50, followed by Pierre-Luc Dubois' first goal of the season less than 90 seconds later (13:34).
Dubois was the recipient of a pass that ricocheted off the boards and ended on his stick in a one-on-one situation with Troy Stecher giving chase. Dubois beat Greiss on the chance, extending Columbus' lead to 3-1.
The Red Wings pulled back within one, 3-2, after Ryan scored his second goal of the day and third of the season with 55.4 seconds remaining. It was initially ruled a non-goal due to incidental contact, but was reversed after video review.

Before the review, the table was set for a feisty finale on Tuesday after Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin and Grosse Pointe, Mich., native Zach Werenski and Ryan and Bjorkstran simultaneously got into scuffles.
Despite the loss, Larkin continues to be pleased by the contributions that Ryan has brought to the Red Wings' offense the past two games.
"I can't say enough good things about him," Larkin said. "He's come to play for our team, and that's huge. He's a smart hockey player and I think he's been our best player the past two games. When he has the puck, he's dangerous, when he doesn't, he makes the right things happen and makes the right plays. It's a lesson for guys like myself and our line to learn from."
Notably, the Red Wings were without the services of Robby Fabbri and Adam Erne, who were both forced to miss the game after entering the NHL's COVID-19 protocol. They were replaced in the lineup by Rasmussen and Frans Nielsen, respectively.
Puck drop on Tuesday night is set for 7:30 p.m. from Little Caesars Arena (FOX Sports Detroit, 97.1 The Ticket).