Danforth’s late goal lifts Blue Jackets over Red Wings 5-3 in Stadium Series

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Justin Danforth scored with 2:17 remaining to lift the Columbus Blue Jackets over Detroit 5-3 on Saturday night in the Stadium Series, leapfrogging the Red Wings to take sole possession of the first Eastern Conference wild-card spot.

Denton Mateychuk notched the team’s first-ever outdoor goal, Dmitri Voronkov and Mathieu Olivier scored 32 seconds apart in the second period, and Adam Fantilli added an empty-netter.

Elvis Merzlikins made 43 stops to help Columbus beat Detroit for the second time in three days and win its fourth straight.

Alex DeBrincat scored twice to extend his point streak to nine games. Patrick Kane added a goal, and Cam Talbot made 16 stops for Detroit, which snapped a five-game road win streak and clings to the second wild-card spot.

The 43rd outdoor game in league history was Columbus’ first and played before a crowd of 94,751 at Ohio Stadium.

Detroit: The Red Wings took early control of the puck, outshooting Columbus 14-6 in the first period but fell behind in the second. Despite dominating the third period, they had no answer for Columbus’ late goals.

Columbus: With a game-time temperature of 29.4 degrees and gusts up to 18 mph, Columbus took time to warm up before scoring three second-period goals. The Blue Jackets stayed calm and overcame Detroit’s third-period surge.

DeBrincat pulled Detroit even from a two-goal deficit with 3:24 left, but Danforth responded just over a minute later. Fantilli added an insurance empty-netter with 1:08 left.

The 2025 Stadium Series marked the third outdoor game in NHL history involving teams tied in points entering play but the first featuring two teams tied for the same playoff spot after the season’s midpoint. It was the first time since April 13, 2014, that Detroit and Columbus were both in a playoff position this late in the season.

Both teams return to action Tuesday, with the Red Wings hosting Carolina and the Blue Jackets visiting Tampa Bay.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Detroit Red Wings' Moritz Seider, left, tries to clear the puck as Columbus Blue Jackets' Kirill Marchenko defends during the second period of the Stadium Series NHL hockey game at Ohio Stadium Saturday, March 1, 2025, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

The Columbus Blue Jackets enter Ohio Stadium before the start of the Stadium Series NHL hockey game between the against the Detroit Red Wings Saturday, March 1, 2025, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

Columbus Blue Jackets' Boone Jenner celebrates their goal against the Detroit Red Wings during the second period of the Stadium Series NHL hockey game at Ohio Stadium, Saturday, March 1, 2025, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

The Detroit Red Wings and the Columbus Blue Jackets play during the second period of the Stadium Series NHL hockey game at Ohio Stadium, Saturday, March 1, 2025, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

Detroit Red Wings' Cam Talbot skates to the goal during a time out against the Columbus Blue Jackets play during the second period of the Stadium Series NHL hockey game at Ohio Stadium, Saturday, March 1, 2025, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

The Detroit Red Wings and the Columbus Blue Jackets play during the second period of the Stadium Series NHL hockey game at Ohio Stadium, Saturday, March 1, 2025, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

Detroit Red Wings' Albert Johansson, left, and Columbus Blue Jackets' Mikael Pyyhtia chase the puck during the second period of the Stadium Series NHL hockey game at Ohio Stadium, Saturday, March 1, 2025, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

Columbus Blue Jackets' Mathieu Olivier, left, celebrates his goal against the Detroit Red Wings with teammate Damon Severson during the second period of the Stadium Series NHL hockey game at Ohio Stadium Saturday, March 1, 2025, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A former Polish justice minister who faces prosecution in his homeland over alleged abuse of power said Monday that he has been granted asylum in Hungary.

Zbigniew Ziobro was a key figure in the government led by the nationalist conservative Law and Justice party that ran Poland between 2015 and 2023. That administration established political control over key judicial institutions by stacking higher courts with friendly judges and punishing its critics with disciplinary action or assignments to far-away locations.

Current Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government came to power more than two years ago with ambitions to roll back the changes, but efforts to undo them have been blocked by two successive presidents aligned with the national right.

In October, prosecutors requested the lifting of Ziobro's parliamentary immunity to press charges against him. They allege among other things that Ziobro misused a fund for victims of violence, including for the purchase of Israeli Pegasus surveillance software.

Tusk’s party says Law and Justice used Pegasus to spy illegally on political opponents while in power. Ziobro says he acted lawfully.

Hungary, led by nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, has hosted several politicians close to Law and Justice while Polish authorities were seeking them.

In a lengthy post on X Monday, Ziobro wrote that he had “decided to accept the asylum granted to me by the government of Hungary due to the political persecution in Poland.”

“I have decided to remain abroad until genuine guarantees of the rule of law are restored in Poland,” he said. “I believe that instead of acquiescing to being silenced and subjected to a torrent of lies — which I would have no opportunity to refute — I can do more by fighting the mounting lawlessness in Poland.”

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Budapest on Monday that Hungarian authorities have granted asylum to “several” individuals who would face political persecution in Poland, according to his ministry. He declined to specify their names.

In an English-language post on X, Tusk wrote that “the former Minister of Justice(!), Mr. Ziobro, who was the mastermind of the political corruption system, has asked the government of Victor Orbán for political asylum.”

“A logical choice,” he added.

FILE - The leader of the Polish junior coalition partners Zbigniew Ziobro, speaks to reporters alongside in Warsaw, Poland, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski, file)