Of Red Wings-related note this afternoon:
1. Here’s the Red Wings’ Game Day Preview video:
The Game: The Columbus Blue Jackets take over the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference by defeating the Detroit Red Wings at Nationwide Arena on Friday.
Columbus, which has won its past three games, trails the New Jersey Devils by one point and is four points behind the Philadelphia Flyers for third place in the Metropolitan Division. The Blue Jackets hold the second wild card by two points over the Florida Panthers.
Detroit is 0-4-1 in its past five games and 2-6-2 in its past 10. The Red Wings begin a five-game road trip 12 points behind the Blue Jackets after a 4-0 loss at home to the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday.
Players to watch: Red Wings forward Evgeny Svechnikov, selected No. 19 in the 2015 NHL Draft, had one shot in 9:09 of ice time in his season debut on Thursday. It was his third NHL game.
Blue Jackets forward Thomas Vanek, acquired from the Vancouver Canucks on Feb. 26, scored his first two goals for Columbus in a 5-4 overtime win against the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday. He had 38 points (15 goals, 23 assists) in 48 games with Detroit last season.
They said it: “It comes down to your one-on-one battles and your compete and doing it every night, no matter what the situation you face or is thrown at you.” — Red Wings forward Justin Abdelkader
“That’s a huge win for us to try and keep it going and gain some confidence .” — Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella on the victory against Colorado
