Alex DeBrincat scored twice to even the game, but the Columbus Blue Jackets scored 2 in the final 3 minutes at Ohio Stadium.

The Dylan Larkin importance to the Detroit team is such that when he’s not on top of his game the Red Wings are not on top of theirs. “I can’t beat around the bush — he was missing,” Detroit coach Todd McLellan said after the Columbus Blue Jackets downed Detroit 5-2 in the first game of their ultra-important home-and-home series.

The Blue Jackets beat the Detroit Red Wings 5-3 in Ohio Stadium Saturday, putting the proper punctuation on what was a special event for Columbus.

Larkin had no points and no shots in 18:26 Tuesday in a 3-2 victory in Minnesota. He’s played a lot of hockey – five games in eight nights including the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game – and three of those games went to overtime. But McLellan said that’s not an excuse.

COLUMBUS — Detroit Red Wings Captain Dylan Larkin didn’t have a problem with his coach Todd McLellan criticizing his Thursday performance against Columbus because he agreed with his assessment.

For a lot of Detroit Red Wings fans, Saturday night's Stadium Series game boils down to a single moment of frustration: A missed high-sticking call from Justin Danforth to the face of Simon Edvinsson,

Todd McLellan said Dylan Larkin 'was missing' from the Detroit Red Wings' 5-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday at Little Caesars Arena.

Detroit Red Wings coach Todd McLellan didn't exactly hold back his thoughts on team captain Dylan Larkin, who just starred for Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off earlier this month. Following Thursday's 5-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets,

Kudos to the Red Wings coach for standing tall and publicly dressing down his captain after a poor performance in Thursday’s 5-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets ... Kasper to the third line. Good for Todd McLellan. Because Dylan Larkin needed to ...