This may be the appetizer for the main course on Saturday, but both teams entered this one with something to lose occupying the two Eastern Wild Card spots.
First Period
Early on it was easy to see the difference in the style of play of these two teams. Columbus plays a much faster and more direct type of game and they created a few chances early on because of it. Fantilli rang one of the post and Marchenko was visible hounding Red Wings players on the back check. Detroit settled into the game midway through the period and sought to slow the pace down and hold on to the puck in the offensive zone.