DETROIT _ Bert and Ernie scored for the Red Wings Tuesday, but it was Columbus who played the role of Oscar the Grouch.
Specifically Columbus forward Pierre-Luc Dubois, who broke a tie early in the third period and sent the Jackets to a 5-3 victory.
That's two consecutive losses for the Wings, who had righted their ship ever so lightly last week with two straight wins.
The holiday break next week can't come quickly enough.
Tyler Bertuzzi had a power-play goal and Adam Erne scored his first two goals as a Red Wing, but it wasn't enough.
Cam Atkinson, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Kevin Stenlund (power play) had the other Blue Jackets goals. Former Red Wings forward Gustav Nyquist clinched it with an empty-net goal with 6 seconds left, ending the scoring at 5-3.
Dubois broke a 3-3 tie at 1:19 of the third period, his 11th goal.
Dubois rushed the puck down the ice on a 2-on-2 rush, and in the slot, got a shot off that beat goaltender Jonathan Bernier glove side.
Nyquist played his first game in Detroit since being dealt at the trade deadline last season to San Jose _ he's faced them once each in San Jose and Columbus _ and set up Bjorkstrand with a nifty, behind the back reverse pass to put Columbus ahead 2-1 in the first period.
But early on, for the Wings, it was all about Erne.
Acquired from Tampa last summer, Erne was expected to be a net-front presence, a player with some size and grit who could contribute to the Wings in a variety of ways.
Erne has supplied some grit and agitating ability, but the offense has been, shall we say, lacking.
The two goals Tuesday were the first two goals, and first two points, of the season for Erne in his 28th game.
His first goal came at 5:11 of the first period, off a Wings' rush.
Frans Nielsen worked the puck into the zone, he and Erne exchanged passes, and Erne wound up lining a one-timer past goalie Joonas Korpisalo from the hashmarks.
Columbus tied the score at 1-1 at 11:02, on a delayed penalty.
Dubois found Atkinson skating down the slot, and Atkinson deflected the pass past Bernier for his ninth goal.
After Bjorkstrand made it 2-1 at 12:06 with his 10th goal, it was time again for Erne to supply more offense.
This time Erne got a beneficial bounce, as the puck squirted to him near the goal line, and Erne again made no mistake, not hesitating before beating Korpisalo for the second time of the evening, at 17:17 of the first period.
The Wings took a 3-2 lead early in the second period on Bertuzzi's 12th goal.
On the power play, Filip Hronek took a shot from the high slot that appeared to bounce off both Dylan Larkin and Bertuzzi before bouncing through Korpisalo.
But the Blue Jackets rallied once more in the back-and-forth game, also on the power play.
Stenlund, playing in only his second NHL game, threw a pass toward the net that Wings defenseman Trevor Daley got his stick on and redirected past Bernier, Stelund's first goal, at 6:54.
The Wings fell to 9-24-3, and again are in the midst of a losing streak, albeit a small one, they'll need to erase quickly before it snowfalls further _ as has happened twice this season (8 and 12-game losing streaks).
"It's hard, obviously," forward Anthony Mantha said about the losing streaks Monday. "The confidence is affected everywhere in the room right now. Just little plays that usually bounce our way are not bouncing our way right now.
"It's hard, but we need to keep focusing, need to go back to basics, and it's hard to say it but we need to have fun."
