Jimmy-Howard-3-25-14

Cam Atkinson scored while the net was off one of its moorings, but it's a good goal because he was pushed into the goal by Brendan Smith.

(The Associated Press)

COLUMBUS – When Cam Atkinson tapped the puck into the net while the net was off one of its moorings, the Detroit Red Wings immediately protested to the officials.

But, after a video review by NHL officials in Toronto, the goal was allowed to stand because Detroit defenseman Brendan Smith pushed Atkinson into the net, causing it to become dislodged.

The goal put the Columbus Blue Jackets ahead at 6:58 of the third period Tuesday, and they went on to defeat the Red Wings 4-2 at Nationwide Arena.

“I don’t think any of us knew that was the rule; we can’t blame the refs either,” Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. “They went to Toronto and they made the call. I guess that’s the rule. We got to live with it.”

Said Red Wings coach Mike Babcock: “It doesn’t matter what I think. They made a decision.

“I thought when the net was off the goal didn’t count, but they evidently think our guy pushed their guy in and so it’s a goal. There’s no sense disputing that. We had to get one more goal.”

Gustav Nyquist continued his torrid pace by scoring both goals for the Red Wings (33-25-14), who are now in a four-way tie for the first wild-card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with Columbus, Toronto and Washington.

It was a stinging defeat because the Red Wings battled back from an early two-goal deficit. One mistake cost them. Smith stepped up to play the puck in the offensive zone and got caught, leading to a two-on-one rush with Kronwall back. Jimmy Howard stopped Matt Calvert’s initial shot but the rebound sat in the crease.

“Odd-man rushes are something you never want to have against yourself, whatever the score might be,” Kronwall said. “They got a good break there, came down on a two-on-one and it was one of those situations where the puck is all over the place and they were able to find it.”

Said Howard: “They knock the net off and they still score. I guess it’s something to remember in the back of our minds, you knock the net off it, just throw it in there. It should count.”

Nyquist has 25 goals, 20 of them since Jan. 20. He’s on six-game goal-scoring streak with eight goals during this stretch. His line, with Tomas Tatar (two assists) and Riley Sheahan (one assist) has carried the club the past two games in particular.

The top line of David Legwand, Johan Franzen and Daniel Alfredsson has been shut out the past two games, but Babcock said, “I thought they had good looks actually (Tuesday). I thought Mule was in home-free late, I thought Alfie had an empty net. I thought that was one of their better games.”

The penalty-killing units have had better games. Power-play goals by Ryan Johansson (1:35) and Brandon Dubinsky (12:46) in the first period staked the Blue Jackets to an early lead.

“The first one we can’t give up; they get multiple shots on the power play we got to hold our ground there,” Babcock said. “The second one is a tough one (Dubinsky’s pass went in off Danny DeKeyser’s stick). The bottom line is you got to find ways to kill penalties.”

The Blue Jackets were on a 0-for-36 streak on the power play coming into the game.

“The game didn’t start the way we wanted,” Kronwall said. “We were standing around a little too much, watching them play. I thought we got better as the game went on. We got some breaks ourselves; Gus with the second goal. It’s a tight game, we just got to find way to stick with it and be a little more opportunistic.”

Nyquist scored off a rebound at 14:55 of the first and during a two-on-one with Tatar at 10:58 of the second. Curtis McElhinney replaced a flu-ridden Sergei Bobrovsky after the first period in net for Columbus.

“It doesn’t really matter,” Nyquist said of his production. “It was an important game. Tough loss. We’ll forget about this one and move on.”