RECAP: Red Wings use early lead to edge Blue Jackets, 4-2

COLUMBUS -- Detroit Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde continually stresses that a strong start sets the tone for the rest of a game.

And on Sunday night, the Red Wings came out strong and held onto an early lead en route to a 4-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena.
Detroit kicked off the first period on a high note, outshooting Columbus, 13-8, and taking a 2-0 advantage on an even-strength goal from Austin Czarnik and power-play tally from Dominik Kubalik. After Lucas Raymond scored a 5-on-3 goal just over seven minutes into the second, the Blue Jackets responded with two unanswered tallies. Andrew Copp provided an insurance goal at 6:08 of the final frame, helping the Red Wings snap a three-game losing streak.
"It was a really good start for us," said goalie Ville Husso, who made 32 saves for Detroit. "Exactly how we wanted. Even when they came back, we still had the energy and push to make it 4-2."
David Perron, Filip Hronek and Olli Maatta all recorded two assists apiece. With the win, the Red Wings improved to 3-0 in the second game of back-to-backs this season, boosting their overall record to 12-7-5 (29 points). Columbus fell to 8-13-2.
"Anytime you can start with a win on the road that's what you want," Czarnik said. "Now, we go to three hard places to play with really good teams. We just need to build off this and keep on going."
NEXT UP: Detroit will continue its road swing with two straight games in the Sunshine State, first dropping the puck against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night at AMALIE Arena.

SCORING SUMMARY

Detroit 1, Columbus 0 (6:34, 1st period)
Czarnik redirected Jonatan Berggren's shot past Blue Jackets netminder Joonas Korpisalo to open the scoring. Maatta also recorded an assist on Czarnik's second tally of the season.

Detroit 2, Columbus 0 (17:36, 1st period)
Perron's backwards feed near the boards went to Hronek at the top of the slot. Hronek then teed up Kubalik for a one-timer that doubled the Red Wings' early lead. With a helper on Kubalik's team-leading fifth power-play goal of the season, Hronek became the third Detroit defenseman to record a road point streak of at least 10 games, following Brian Rafalski (12 games played in 2007-08) and Paul Coffey (15 games played in 1994-95).

Detroit 3, Columbus 0 (7:03, 2nd period)
Raymond, assisted by Perron and Hronek, buried a one-timer from a sharp angle on the power play. It was Raymond's 30th career NHL goal.

Columbus 1, Detroit 3 (16:10, 2nd period)
Marcus Bjork got Columbus on the scoreboard when he converted a long shot from the top of the slot.
Columbus 2, Detroit 3 (1:58, 3rd period)
Less than two minutes into the third period, Kent Johnson scored from in front of Detroit's crease to make it a one-goal game.
Detroit 4, Columbus 2 (6:08, 3rd period)
After accepting a pass from Oskar Sundqvist following a successful face-off, Matta found Copp just above Columbus' goal line. Copp quickly gathered the feed, then sent a shot under the crossbar to cap the scoring for both clubs.

QUOTABLE

Head coach Derek Lalonde on ending another back-to-back on a positive note
"It's a huge credit to the guys. It's a mindset. I don't know how many teams in this league are gonna be 3-0 on back-to-backs."
Husso on Detroit's mindset after the game against Vegas
"It's never easy. You play yesterday at home and you lose a game that you probably want to win. Then, you fly here and play a 6 o'clock game. It tells a lot about the guys and how ready they always are."
Czarnik on the importance of his first-period goal
"It was a good little start for us. We needed that start to come out hot, and we did."