#LGRW Final: Detroit pulls away from Columbus, 4-1, to get series sweep

DETROIT --To borrow a lyric from The Who, on Kids Day at Little Caesars Arena, the kids were alright.

The Red Wings received even-strength goals from 24-year old Evgeny Svechnikov and 21-year old Michael Rasmussen, along with a pair of empty-netters from Filip Hronek and Vladislav Namestnikov, leading Detroit to a 4-1 win and a series sweep over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Little Caesars Arena on Sunday afternoon. Red Wings goalie Calvin Pickard, making his second start in as many days, tallied the win after recording 16 saves. He allowed just two goals in the series.

The Red Wings (12-20-4, 28 points) will head back on the road for a four-game road trip, beginning with a series at Florida that begins on Tuesday. Columbus (13-15-8, 34 points) will continue its road swing by also traveling to the Sunshine State, and taking on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night.
The Red Wings got on the scoreboard first, when Svechnikov found the back of the net at the 10:40 mark of the opening period. In the midst of a Red Wings' line change, Darren Helm carefully carried the puck past the blue line, and dropped it off to Svechnikov, who made a pair of moves and cleared space for the shot. With a Columbus defender crossing in front of the goal, he beat Columbus goalie Elvis Merzlikins on his right side. It marked Svechnikov's third goal in eight games with the Red Wings this season.

Much like Saturday's aggressive first period, the Red Wings controlled play in Sunday's opening frame, taking a 7-2 advantage on shots into the dressing room at the first intermission.
Detroit continued to control the pace of play throughout the second period, but Columbus evened the score, 1-1, with just 1:35 remaining in the stanza. Following a play that sent the puck behind Detroit's goal, it ended up on the stick of Oliver Bjorkstrand, who scored on a deep shot from behind the faceoff circles. The Red Wings still held a 21-11 on shots after two periods despite the score being tied.
The Red Wings regained the lead, 2-1, less than three minutes into the third period (17:09). Rasmussen secured his first goal of the season, and the eventual game-winner, after pushing a rebound that ricocheted off the boards across the goal line. Columbus coach John Tortorella challenged the call for goalie interference, but the tally was confirmed.

Both empty-net goals were scored in the final 90 seconds. Hronek scored his second empty-netter of the season with 1:29 remaining from the length of the ice, while Namestnikov secured his 200th career NHL point after completing the game's scoring with 1:08 remaining.

Tuesday's puck drop between the Red Wings and Panthers is set for 7 p.m. ET from BB&T Center (FOX Sports Detroit, Red Wings Radio Network).