DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings tried a couple of new players in a shootout, and it worked perfectly.

Centers Riley Sheahan and Andreas Athanasiou scored shootout goals to give the Detroit Red Wings a 2-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday at Joe Louis Arena.

The Red Wings ended their four-game losing streak (0-2-2) with only their second shootout win of the season.

It was the first time Detroit coach Jeff Blashill used Sheahan or Athanasiou in a shootout this season. Sheahan had three previous attempts -- with one goal -- and Athanasiou is a rookie.

"Sheahan hasn't taken many shootouts, but his numbers are pretty good," Blashill said. "We've obviously gone with the guys who have the best numbers historically and recently and in recent years, but it hasn't worked.

"It was a bit of a hunch. Sheahan had scored on the breakaway earlier. Athanasiou, I know, is a real good shootout guy, having had him in (AHL) Grand Rapids."

Said Athanasiou: "I think he just went off a feeling. I was just on the bench when he called my name, and I hopped over the boards."

Sheahan scored for Detroit in regulation. Goalie Petr Mrazek made 28 saves through regulation and overtime before stopping right winger Cam Atkinson and center Alexander Wennberg in the shootout.

"It's a big two points," Blashill said. "Coming off of four games where we weren't able to get a win -- obviously we had points in the last two -- but at home here, we needed the two points. We're at that point of the season, you got to find a way, and we found a way."

Center Boone Jenner scored for Columbus, and goaltender Curtis McElhinney made 27 saves.

"I have absolutely no complaints about the way we played. I thought that we were the better team in the third period," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "... The thing that came back to bite us was that we had so many odd-man opportunities where we wound up not even getting a shot."

Jenner hit the goal post from the left circle with about 6:45 left in the third period.

McElhinney stopped Detroit defenseman Brendan Smith on a breakaway 2:16 into the third period.

Sheahan's short-handed goal with 6:01 left in the second period tied the game 1-1. Sheahan scored on a breakaway by beating McElhinney low on the stick side after taking a pass from defenseman Alexei Marchenko.

"Marchy made a great play there at the (Detroit blue) line," Sheahan said. "He does a great job of breaking up plays like that. He just put it into space, and I had a step on the guy and saw the lane and got a fortunate bounce. Their player slashed me at the last second and I kind of fanned on it actually, but luckily it went in."

It was Sheahan's eighth goal of the season and first in 18 games. It was also the Red Wings first short-handed goal of the season. They were the last team in the NHL to get a short-handed goal in 2015-16.

Forty-three seconds before Sheahan scored, Detroit defenseman Kyle Quincey got his stick on Jenner's shot from the bottom of the left circle with the left side of the net open.

Jenner gave Columbus a 1-0 lead with 1:42 left in the first period.

His shot, off the rush from deep in the left circle, was a knuckleball that got between Mrazek's arm and body on the short side. It was Jenner's 22nd of the season, third goal in two games and fifth in five games.

"I'm proud of the way everybody played," McElhinney said. "I thought we played a real solid game."

NOTES: Detroit D Niklas Kronwall returned after missing 15 games because of arthroscopic knee surgery. He played 24:25, the second most ice time on the team. ... Columbus was without G Sergei Bobrovsky (groin), RW David Clarkson (upper body) and RW Jared Boll (foot). ... Former Red Wings D Niklas Lidstrom was honored before the game. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in November. ... Blue Jackets defensemen Cody Goloubef and Justin Falk were healthy scratches. The Red Wings scratched RW Tomas Jurco and D Xavier Ouellet.