COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard felt the deciding goal shouldnt have counted in the Red Wings 4-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night. "I guess its something to remember here and keep in the back of our minds -- if you knock the net off, just throw (the puck) in there," he said. "It should count." Cam Atkinson scored a goal confirmed by video replay in the third period, and Ryan Johansen added an empty-netter for his second of the game to lead the Blue Jackets to a win that further tightens the already close Eastern Conference playoff race. On an odd-man rush, Matt Calverts shot from the left wing was stopped by Howard, although the puck popped loose behind the goalie. Atkinson, racing down the right wing, was hit by Detroit defenceman Brendan Smith. Atkinsons leg knocked the net off its moorings as he backhanded the loose puck into the cage as it was sliding away from the goal line. The goal, at 6:58 of the third, was ruled good because Smiths hit on Atkinson had knocked the net loose -- bringing a loud cheer from the crowd of 15,103. "I wasnt really sure," Atkinson said about the goal. "The net went off, but their explanation was the puck was going in as the net was coming off. Matty just made a good play. The puck kind of snuck out between his legs, and I was at the right place at the right time." Columbus, Detroit, Washington and Toronto are all tied with 80 points for places 7-10 in the East. The Blue Jackets win any tiebreaker, and Detroit and Columbus also have more games left (10) than the Capitals (9) and Maple Leafs (8). Columbus had lost three of four. "We got some fortunate bounces," Johansen said after goals 28 and 29. "Thats what we needed." Brandon Dubinsky and Johansen had power-play goals in the first period after the Blue Jackets had failed to score on their previous 36 opportunities with a man advantage over a 10-game span. James Wisniewski assisted on both and added another helper. "You know what Im pleased about? Hopefully after tonight I wont get any more questions about the power play," Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards said. "When we scored the first one I said, Good. Now we can stop talking about it." Curtis McElhinney stopped 22 of 23 shots in relief of Sergei Bobrovsky, who left after the first period because of the flu. McElhinney made Atkinsons goal stand with big stops on Darren Helm with 8 minutes left, making a sprawling pad save, and again a minute later on Johan Franzens wraparound. With 1:44 left, he deflected Kyle Quinceys wicked blast from the high slot with his right shoulder. Red Wings coach Mike Babcock refused to blame the call on the Atkinson goal for the loss. "It doesnt matter what I think, obviously," he said. "They made a decision. I thought when the net was off, the goal didnt count but they evidently thought our guy pushed their guy in. So its a goal. Theres no sense disputing that. We had to get one more goal." Gustav Nyquist, last weeks No. 1 star in the NHL, maintained his hot hand with two goals for the Red Wings, who were 3-0-1 in their previous four. He has 20 goals in his last 24 games. "It doesnt really matter," he said of his two goals. "It was an important game. Well forget about this one and move on." NOTES: With a TV camera just a couple of feet away on the other side of the glass during a break, Johansen grinned and tore off a piece of athletic tape and playfully stuck it on the glass to shield the cameras view. ... Howard stopped 23 of 26 shots. ... Last week, Nyquist had six goals and seven points in four games; the Blue Jackets had six goals as a team in their previous five games. ... RW Mitch Callahan, recalled on Monday from AHL Grand Rapids, made his NHL debut for the Red Wings, skating on the fourth line. Jonathan Stewart Jersey . Tensions rose in the first period when Penguins defenceman Brooks Orpik hit Bruins forward Loui Eriksson with what appeared to be a clean hit. Cody Latimer Jersey .? It was his second straight start for the Jets; he suffered a 1-0 loss against Minnesota Monday. So this season Hutchinson has now won games in the ECHL, AHL and NHL. He was perfect three- for-three in the shootout to nail down the win. http://www.nygiantsfanatic.com/c-84-gian...meh-jersey.aspx. Napoli beat high-flying Hellas Verona 3-0 to keep up the pressure on the top two while AC Milan had another disappointing night as four goals from teenage forward Domenico Berardi saw relegation-threatened Sassuolo come back from two goals down to win 4-3. B.J. Hill Giants Jersey .C. - The Panthers will be without starting defensive tackle Star Lotulelei for Saturday nights NFC divisional playoff game against Seattle after undergoing surgery Wednesday to repair a broken bone in his foot. Saquon Barkley Giants Jersey . But when it was all over they had wasted another lead, seen another pitcher flame out on the mound and lost their fourth straight at home.LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Jordan Hill did it at both ends of the court Sunday night against the Orlando Magic, putting together his own personal highlight reel in a season during which there havent been many of those for himself or the Los Angeles Lakers. Hill had a career-high 28 points along with 13 rebounds in his first start in over nine weeks and the Lakers beat Orlando 103-94, sending the Magic to their ninth straight loss. "Youve got to be ready because you never know when your number will be called to step in there in the starting lineup," said Hill, who got the news that he would start from coach Mike DAntoni at the morning shootaround. "Just went out there and played hard, playing aggressively and played my game. I felt like nobody could stop me. "My mindset out there was that nobody could keep me off the offensive boards and nobody could keep me from the rim." Nick Young scored 26 points off the bench, helping the Lakers end a four-game skid. Pau Gasol had six points in 18 minutes, and sat out the second half after feeling nauseous and dizzy. A Lakers spokesperson said after the game that Gasol would spend the night in a hospital for observation. Steve Nash, who had 11 assists in 19 minutes off the bench Friday night against Washington after missing the previous 15 games because of chronic nerve damage in his back, did not play. The 40-year-old two-time MVP has been limited to just 11 games all season because of his condition. Xavier Henry, who was back in the lineup for just nine games after missing 28 because of a bone bruise on his right knee, was sidelined again after tearing a ligament in his left wrist in the loss to the Wizards. He will be re-examined Monday. The Lakers (23-46) have to go no worse than 8-5 the rest of the way to avoid tying the 1974-75 squad for the worst record since the franchise relocated from Minneapolis to Los Angeles in 1960-61. But eight games on their remaining schedule are against teams that currently are over .500. "Were playing for pride," Hill said. "I mean, were still the Lakers. Were definitely one of the top organizations in the league, if not the best. So we have to take a stand for ourselves. We cant quit and weve got to keep fighting." Orlando point guard Victor Oladipo, the second overall pick in the draft, had 21 points and 10 assists in his eighth career start while Jameer Nelson missed his third straight game with a sore left knee. Aaron Afflalo scored 18 points for the Magic, one night after they lost 89-88 at Utah on a 3-pointer by Trey Burke with 1.dddddddddddd6 seconds remaining. "They had some bigs that were playing extremely aggressive at the rim," Orlando coach Jacque Vaughn said. "I think Hill had an impact on the game with his energy and effort. It was through dunks, offensive rebounds, rolling to the rim and putting the ball back in. He gave his team some edge tonight." The Magic have lost 23 of their last 24 road games — the only exception a 101-90 win against Philadelphia on Feb. 26. "Were not building for next year yet," Vaughn said. "Weve still got some games to go, but what I do see is our guys getting better." The Lakers led throughout the second half, but never led by double digits. Orlando got as close as 83-80 on a 15-footer by Afflalo, but the Lakers converted 13 of 14 free throws over the final 5:18 to put it away. Youngs 3-pointer was their only field goal during the final 8 minutes. Hill, making his first start since Jan. 17, paced Los Angeles to a 55-48 halftime lead with 14 points and six rebounds. The Lakers converted seven Orlando turnovers into nine points during the first 5:03 and took a 25-17 lead on a four-point play by Young, his franchise-record fifth of the season and eighth by the team — also a franchise best. "Rest definitely helped a lot," said Hill, who missed six games earlier this month because of a sore right knee. "I felt like I could jump over the gym, jump over anything. I just felt more mobile and was able to move quicker. I was definitely able to get up and get rebounds and move my feet on defence." NOTES: Orlando faced Los Angeles in the NBA finals just five years ago, losing in five games. But the Magic are 39-113 since the start of last season after firing Stan Van Gundy and trading three-time Defensive Player of the Year Dwight Howard to the Lakers — and are one of only four teams that have a worse record than the Lakers this season. ... A loss Tuesday night at home against Portland would give Orlando two double-digit losing streaks in the same season for the third time in the franchises 25-year history. It also happened last season and in 2003-04. The Magic have seven of those streaks altogether. ... The Lakers failed to sell out for the sixth time. ... The Magic fell to 0-30 on the road when trailing after three quarters. ... This was the Magics final road game against Western Conference opponents. They were 0-15. ... The Magic, who came in 0-33 when they get outrebounded, won the battle of the boards 46-34. 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