HOCKEY: Blue Jackets force OT late, top Red Wings in shootout

Blue Jackets Edge Red Wings 6-5 in Shootout Thriller. Kent Johnson and Kirill Marchenko scored in the shootout and also had goals in regulation as the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the visiting Detroit Red Wings 6-5 on Thursday.

Adam Fantilli scored twice for Columbus, including the tying goal with 1:31 left in regulation that sent the game into overtime. Ivan Provorov added another goal, while Zach Werenski and Sean Monahan each recorded three assists. Goaltender Elvis Merzlikins made 28 saves.

For Detroit, Lucas Raymond and Patrick Kane each had a goal and an assist. Dylan Larkin, Alex DeBrincat, and James van Riemsdyk scored the other goals, with Moritz Seider and Andrew Copp contributing two assists apiece. Cam Talbot stopped 26 shots in the loss.

Kane tied the score at 4 midway through the third period, skating toward the middle and beating Merzlikins glove side. Later, DeBrincat put Detroit ahead with 8:22 remaining, firing a shot from the slot past Merzlikins’ glove. With an extra skater on the ice, Fantilli tied the game at 5 with 1:31 left. His shot from near the blue line deflected off a defender and past Talbot.

Columbus opened the scoring in the first period. Provorov sent a wrister from the point past a screened Talbot with 2:05 remaining.

Early in the second, Provorov was called for a delay-of-game penalty, and Detroit capitalized on the power play. Seider flipped the puck toward the net, and Larkin redirected it past Merzlikins’ glove.

Columbus responded with two quick goals. On their first power-play opportunity, Marchenko scored from the left circle, flicking the puck between Talbot’s pads. Less than two minutes later, Johnson scored in front, shoveling in a rebound from a Cole Sillinger shot to make it 3-1.

A double minor against Columbus’ Dmitri Voronkov for high sticking allowed Detroit to score twice on the power play, tying the game at 3. Raymond scored from the high slot, and van Riemsdyk tipped a shot over Merzlikins’ pads.

The Blue Jackets regained the lead at 4-3 before the period ended, with Fantilli converting a power-play slapshot from the right circle past Talbot. -Field Level Media/Reuters