National Hockey League
Detroit 4, Columbus 1
When: 3:00 PM ET, Sunday, March 28, 2021
Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Referees: Dean Morton, Corey Syvret
Linesmen: Shandor Alphonso, Andrew Smith
Attendance: N/A

Michael Rasmussen scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period, and goalie Calvin Pickard collected his second win in as many days Sunday, leading the host Detroit Red Wings to a 4-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Rasmussen's tally was his first of the season. Evgeny Svechnikov, Filip Hronek and Vladislav Namestnikov also scored for Detroit. Namestnikov's goal gave him 200 career points.

Pickard had not recorded a victory since November 2018 until the back-to-back wins in his first two starts this season. He made 16 saves Sunday, one day after saving 20 of 21 shots as the Red Wings beat Columbus 3-1 on Saturday.

Jack Roslovic scored the only goal for Columbus, which has lost four consecutive games (0-3-1). Elvis Merzlikins made 25 saves.

Red Wings forward Bobby Ryan exited the game in the opening period with an upper-body injury.

The Red Wings took the lead midway through the first period when Christian Djoos made a steal in his own zone and passed the puck to Darren Helm, who skated into the Blue Jackets' zone. Helm dished it to Svechnikov, who moved into the slot and beat Merzlikins on the stick side for his third goal of the season.

With 1:35 left in the second period, the Blue Jackets caught a break to tie it at 1-all. What appeared to be icing by Columbus was waved off by a linesman. The Red Wings turned the puck over in their zone and Oliver Bjorkstrand's shot from the point was tipped in by Roslovic. Cam Atkinson picked up the second assist.

But the Red Wings regained the lead in another controversial moment. Rasmussen scored on a rebound just 2:51 into the third period. After Robby Fabbri took a shot that went wide, Rasmussen got his stick on it and the puck trickled under Merzlikins' left pad.

The Blue Jackets challenged, claiming goalie interference, but the original call was upheld. Danny DeKeyser got the second assist.

With Merzlikins on the bench for an extra skater, Hronek scored his second empty-net goal of the season with 1:29 left. Hronek flipped the puck from his own zone for his fifth empty-netter since last season, leading all NHL defensemen.

Namestnikov added another empty-netter 21 seconds later.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Columbus   Detroit
Jack Roslovic 1 Points Filip Hronek 1
Jack Roslovic 1 Goals Filip Hronek 1
Cam Atkinson 1 Assists Danny DeKeyser 1
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Elvis Merzlikins .926 Save Percentage Calvin Pickard .941
Elvis Merzlikins 25 Saves Calvin Pickard 16
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Columbus 17 1 0-1 1-1 4 28
Detroit 29 4 0-1 1-1 4 22
Upcoming Games
  • Detroit will play their next game on the road against Florida. The Red Wings have a W/L % of .273 after a win and .375 after a loss.
  • Columbus will play their next game on the road against Tampa Bay. The Blue Jackets have a W/L % of .308 after a win and .409 after a loss.