The Red Wings faced the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night at Little Caesars Arena, with their season on the line, given the “playoff math” that stands stacked against Detroit’s post-season hopes.
On Tuesday evening, the Red Wings rallied from a 1-0 deficit in goals by Dylan Larkin and Justin Faulk, when Zach Werenski tied the game, Faulk responded with a 3-2 marker…But Adam Fantilli tied the game at 19:43 of the 3rd period, and in the shootout, Werenski would have revenge on his hometown team, scoring the shootout winner.
Between Detroit’s loss and the Blue Jackets and Senators’ wins, the Red Wings desperately need to both win out and get a lot of help from teams beating Columbus and Ottawa going forward.
With emphatic win over #njdevils, #LetsGoFlyers upped their playoff odds to 60%.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) April 8, 2026
But that late tying goal and shootout W by #CBJ made for big swing (13+%) in the odds – according to @IneffectiveMath's model.
Latest:#GoSensGo 91%#LetsGoFlyers 60%#CBJ 31%#isles 13%#LGRW 4%
I am hugely disappointed in the Wings' second-half splat. It's painful as hell in the pit of my acid reflux.
— George Malik (@georgemalik) April 8, 2026
But the Wings will not be "blown up." Todd McLellan will not be fired. And Steve Yzerman will be in the management team for as long as he wants.
I believe in a "revamp." pic.twitter.com/4JyC04iQqy
PREGAME: John Gibson and Jet Greaves led their respective teams out onto the ice…
๐๐ pic.twitter.com/CDS3VUDRnA
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) April 7, 2026
The Blue Jackets post their lineup as soon as their “line rushes” hit the ice during warmups…
ready to roll ๐ช pic.twitter.com/NyBGOR0bJG
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) April 7, 2026
While the Red Wings held off until closer to puck drop given that Justin Faulk was a “game-time decision”:
Tonight's lineup vs. Columbus โฌ๏ธ pic.twitter.com/PiVyyvRKxG
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) April 7, 2026
1ST PERIOD:
The teams dressed the following starters and lineups:

GOAL: Only 2:06 into the 1st period, the forechecking Boone Jenner tied up Albert Johansson behind the Blue Jackets net, Axel Sandin Pellikka charged back to help Johansson as he was held tight, but ASP fanned on a pass. Mason Marchment centered the loose puck to Danton Heinen, who roofed a shot from the top of the crease over John Gibson.
HEINEN WITH AN EARLY SNIPE! ๐ฅ
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) April 7, 2026
CBJ x @FanaticsBook pic.twitter.com/biXx8OOljh
THE @BLUEJACKETSNHL ARE ON THE BOARD FIRST!!! ๐จ pic.twitter.com/dv1eT2Ubll
— NHL (@NHL) April 7, 2026
And the Blue Jackets strike first! ๐จ pic.twitter.com/Da1njU0TvP
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 7, 2026
Columbus 1, Detroit 0: Heinen (6) from Marchment (24) at 2:06 1st. 1-0 Blue Jackets.
PENALTY: Conor Garland pulled down J.T. Compher and was genuinely shocked by the penalty at 9:36.
GOAL: On the power play, the Red Wings cycled between Raymond, Seider and Kane, Kane looked for DeBrincat across the crease, but slid it down to Dylan Larkin at the right side of the net instead. Larkin passed the puck off a Blue Jacket, and the puck came back to Larkin, who jammed the puck into the net past Greaves.
LARKS! pic.twitter.com/mBwTnvgeg2
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) April 7, 2026
Dylan Larkin gets the @DetroitRedWings on the board and ties the game! ๐ pic.twitter.com/ae1TMj9H8H
— NHL (@NHL) April 7, 2026
Larkin on the power play! pic.twitter.com/HvzAXrKrqm
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) April 7, 2026
Columbus 1, Detroit 1: Larkin (31) from Kane (38) and Seider (46) at 9:33 1st period.
After 1 pic.twitter.com/HaPsIqWyXb
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) April 7, 2026
1st period stats, 1-1 tie CBJ and DET:
— George Malik (@georgemalik) April 7, 2026
The Wings' goal is now Larkin (31) from Kane (38) and Seider (46);
Shots 9-9;
Shot attempts 19-18 Detroit;
Hits 15-9 Detroit;
Giveaways 6-4 Detroit;
Takeaways 4-1 Columbus;
Blocks 6-5 Columbus;
FO's 13-6 CBJ (32%). pic.twitter.com/vzeZg9UC7O
2ND PERIOD:
GOAL: Dylan Larkin sprung Justin Faulk on a 2-on-2 rush, and Faulk deked and dangled through both Blue Jackets defenders–Jake Christiansen and Erik Gudbranson–and Faulk fired a shot over Greaves’ glove, and it was 2-1 6:27 into the 2nd period.
FAULK! pic.twitter.com/eMhGaBa2fZ
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) April 8, 2026
Faulk with a beauty! pic.twitter.com/xctVJJnQ1j
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) April 8, 2026
Justin Faulk gets Detroit rocking!!! ๐ฃ pic.twitter.com/2M0gTBXftT
— NHL (@NHL) April 8, 2026
JUSTIN FAULK SPLITTING THE D FOR A GROSS GOAL ๐ณ๐จ pic.twitter.com/ILz0usAP85
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 8, 2026
WHAT A BEAUTY! ๐ฎโ๐จ https://t.co/1pMSrY47zJ pic.twitter.com/rCfbicE1PS
— NHL (@NHL) April 8, 2026
Columbus 1, Detroit 2: Faulk (13) from Larkin (30) and Chiarot (8) at 6:27 2nd period.
PENALTY: David Perron hooked Adam Fantilli in the defensive zone at 9:21 of the 2nd period.
GOAL: Zach Werenski walked up to the Wings’ blueline, cycled with Denton Mateychuk, and Werenski fired a screened shot through a screened John Gibson to tie the game 2-2 at 10:59 of the 2nd period.
Z'S ON A MISSION!๐ฅ
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) April 8, 2026
CBJ x @FanaticsBook pic.twitter.com/Ww2dmE0xA8
Zach Werenski, top cheddar ๐ง pic.twitter.com/jU2I470MwH
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 8, 2026
Columbus 2, Detroit 2: Werenski (22) from Mateychuk (18) and Greaves (1) at 10:59 2nd period, PPG, screened shot.
PENALTY: David Perron took a dumb penalty, cross-checking Ivan Provorov at 16:29 of the 2nd period some 200 feet from his net.
After 2 pic.twitter.com/HUkyDlet5b
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) April 8, 2026
2nd period stats:
— George Malik (@georgemalik) April 8, 2026
Shots 16-11 CBJ in the 2nd period, shots 25-20 CBJ overall
Detroit 1-1 in 51 seconds PP, CBJ 1-for-2 in 3:38.
Shot attempts 59-42 Columbus;
Hits 19-15 Detroit;
Giveaways 10-8 Detroit;
Takeaways 5-3 Columbus;
Blocks 18-11 Detroit;
FO's 25-14 CBJ (36%). pic.twitter.com/IZ1jnnubOm
After 2 periods…
— George Malik (@georgemalik) April 8, 2026
Larkin 1G 1A, Detroit is "even" in terms of plus-minus;
4 shots + 7 attempts for Faulk, 3 shots + 4 attempts for DeBrincat, 2 shots + 5 attempts for both Larkin and ASP, 1 shot + 5 attempts for Johansson.
6 hits for Finnie, 3 for Mazur, 2 for Chiarot, Larkinโฆ https://t.co/rutC98T632
3RD PERIOD:
INJURY: Michael Rasmussen didn’t return after blocking a shot late in the 2nd period.
UPDATE: Michael Rasmussen (lower body injury) will not return.
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) April 8, 2026
PENALTY: Ben Chiarot tried to lift Sean Monahan’s stick and high-sticked Monahan, giving Columbus a 4-minute power play at 10:22.
PENALTY: At 12:00, Ivan Provorov heaviliy interfered with Moritz Seider and was called for interference. 4 on 4.
GOAL: Off an icing, Andrew Copp won a faceoff to Alex DeBrincat in the shooter’s position, but the puck rolled to DeBrincat’s backhand, so he sent the puck to Justin Faulk…Who BOOMED a slapper through Greaves at 15:14.
FAULK AGAIN! pic.twitter.com/hVIcPzdBqR
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) April 8, 2026
MASSIVE GOAL ALERT! ๐จ
— NHL (@NHL) April 8, 2026
Justin Faulk scores his second of the night and breaks the tie for the @DetroitRedWings! pic.twitter.com/ztyUvtjWzI
Columbus 2, Detroit 3: Faulk (14) from DeBrincat (43) and Copp () at 15:14.
GOALIE PULL: Greaves headed to the bench with 1:30 left 3rd.
GOAL: On the 6 on 5, Sean Monahan won the draw to Kirill Marchenko, he pumped the puck to Zach Werenski on the point, and Adam Fantilli ripped the puck left wing side through John Gibson to make it 3-3.
Columbus 3, Detroit 3: Fantilli (23) from Werenski (58) and Marchenko (39) at 19:43 3rd.
.@xfinity overtime. pic.twitter.com/SPbLuhKJzJ
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) April 8, 2026
60 minutes' worth of stats. pic.twitter.com/RPcaKnQKsl
— George Malik (@georgemalik) April 8, 2026
IN OVERTIME:
Adam Fantilli ran over his own teammate ๐ณ pic.twitter.com/cfdFRQTum6
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 8, 2026
OT stats. pic.twitter.com/MiXoRftovb
— George Malik (@georgemalik) April 8, 2026
IN THE SHOOTOUT:
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) April 8, 2026
COMEBACK = COMPLETE ๐คฏ
— NHL (@NHL) April 8, 2026
Zach Werenski comes up clutch with a HUGE win for the @BlueJacketsNHL!!! pic.twitter.com/eY3jN4qfRw
Zach Werenski secures the extra point for the Blue Jackets ๐ช pic.twitter.com/XfmE1oN2wd
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 8, 2026
STATISTICS: Here are the Game Summary and Event Summary:


FINAL STATS from Detroit's 4-3 shootout loss to Columbus:
— George Malik (@georgemalik) April 8, 2026
Shots in OT 7-3 Detroit, shots 37-35 Detroit overall.
Detroit 1-for-1 in 51 seconds PP, Columbus 1-for-4 in 5:38.
Shot attempts 76-70 DET;
Hits 26-20 DET;
Giveaways 15-14 CBJ;
Takeaways 6-5 CBJ;
Blocks 25-21 DET;โฆ pic.twitter.com/UzaSQBlPAN
Individual stats:
— George Malik (@georgemalik) April 8, 2026
2G Faulk, 1G 1A Larkin, 1A for Chiarot, Copp, Seider, Kane, DeBrincat.
Detroit was even. Perron, Compher, Kasper -2; Johansson, ASP, Seider -1; Chiarot, Copp, Finnie, Larkin, Kane, DeBrincat +1; Faulk +2.
6 shots + 11 attempts for Faulk; 5 shots + 11 attemptsโฆ https://t.co/CySfsjmjDo