The Blue Jackets’ offense simply isn’t scoring enough goals right now to withstand more than a couple of mistakes, and such was the case at Joe Louis Arena Tuesday night as Detroit beat Columbus 2-1.
Seeking an aggressive start and to dictate the pace against a Red Wings team that played Monday afternoon, the Blue Jackets were down early on Daniel Alfredsson’s first goal with Detroit but responded well. They gathered themselves, got back on the horse and went to work on the forecheck – their bread and butter. It helped produce 18 shots at Red Wings goaltender Jonas Gustavsson in the first period, and despite one of their better periods of the year, the Blue Jackets were looking up at a 1-0 deficit.
Cam Atkinson helped change that in the second period, collecting the puck at his own blueline and soaring end-to-end for a game-tying power play goal at 7:48 of the middle frame. Gustavsson made the first stop after a nifty cross-over move by Atkinson, but the rebound was swatted in by No. 13 and the Blue Jackets had drawn level. But the game wasn’t tied for long, and the Red Wings power play converted for the game-deciding goal on its third opportunity of the game.
Todd Bertuzzi received credit for the Red Wings’ second goal, a bouncing puck that found its way into the crease and bounded behind Bobrovsky at 11:14 – and that was all Detroit needed. The home team turned it over to its netminder the rest of the way, and a couple of highlight-reel stops by Gustavsson kept the Blue Jackets with a lone tally.
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