On the ice for four of Detroit's six goals, including the game-winner, Mike Commodore finished -7 for the series. Tied for third on the team with a +11 mark during the regular season, Commodore was tied up with Jiri Hudler in front of the net as Johan Franzen converted Hudler's rebound at the left post.
Jan Hejda, Commodore's partner on the first pairing, missed the game with an ankle injury. Owner of a team-leading +23 mark during the regular season, Hejda finished -5 for the series.
"It's definitely not anything to write home about at all or be proud about," Commodore said. "But, I mean, we tried."
Facing the league's highest-scoring team during the regular season, the Jackets were left with few opportunities to rectify the pairing's negative standing.
"You have to give Detroit credit, it seemed like the first three games we spent the entire game playing in our end and it was just attack after attack," Commodore said. "It just felt like there was never a chance where we had any offense."
Nash gives and receives help
Scoreless in his first eight-plus periods of playoff hockey, Rick Nash had a hand in Columbus' first two goals, picking up where he left off late in Game 3. Drawing two defenders above the left circle, Nash slipped a pass to an unmarked Kristian Huselius, who beat Red Wings goaltender Chris Osgood shortside from inside the left circle at 6:12 of the first period.
Nash's first-career playoff goal came 1:44 into the second period after lunging to redirect a pass from Rostislav Klesla at the right post.
Despite producing a team-leading 10 shots in the series' first three games, gratification waited until game four.
"He got significant better play from the people he was playing with and it really helped him," coach Ken Hitchcock said. "He was doing a lot of it the first two games on his own."
In the regular season and postseason combined, the Blue Jackets finished 17-5-3 when Nash registered multiple points.
By James Pallitto can be reached at pallitto.1@osu.edu.
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