Blue Jackets 4, Red Wings 2: Ryan Johansen scored twice and Cam Atkinson snapped a tie 6:58 into the third period as host Columbus moved into the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Brandon Dubinsky added a power-play goal for the Blue Jackets, who have the most wins (37) and are tied with Detroit for the fewest games played (72) among the four teams tied with 80 points. Defenseman James Wisniewski notched three assists and Curtis McElhinney made 22 saves in relief of an ill Sergei Bobrovsky, who stopped nine shots in the first period.

Gustav Nyquist scored twice for the second straight contest to extend his goal streak to six games while increasing his tallies to 20 in his last 24 contests. Tomas Tatar had a pair of assists and Jimmy Howard turned aside 24 shots for the Red Wings, who occupy the second wild card after playing one game less than Washington (73) and two fewer than Toronto (74).

With the contest tied at 2-2, Atkinson capped a 2-on-1 rush by backhanding Matt Calvert's feed into the goal as the net came off its moorings. Officials reviewed the play and allowed the goal to stand after determining that Detroit defenseman Brendan Smith pushed Atkinson into the post. Johansen sealed the win with an empty-net goal for his team-leading 29th tally.

After failing to score on its previous 36 power-play opportunities, Columbus converted its first two attempts to seize the early lead. Nyquist answered the barrage with one of his own, tapping home a loose puck at 14:55 of the first period before forging a tie as the puck caromed off both his skate and a trailing Johansen before skidding into the back of the net.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Blue Jackets claimed the early lead as Johansen cleaned up his own rebound just 95 seconds into the contest. Dubinsky doubled the advantage at 12:46 after his attempted centering feed caromed off the skate of Detroit D Danny DeKeyser and into the net. ... Columbus recalled G Mike McKenna from Springfield of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis because Bobrovsky had flu-like symptoms. McKenna did not dress for this contest, however.