COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 11 (UPI) -- Curtis Joseph made 31 saves in his first start in a month Thursday night in carrying Detroit to a 4-2 decision over Columbus.
Brett Hull scored with 7:55 remaining as the Red Wings extended their unbeaten streak to six games.
In his first action since spraining his right ankle on Feb. 11, Joseph made a big play on Blue Jackets All-Star Rick Nash. Moments after having a shot go off his mask, Joseph poked the puck off Nash's stick, preventing him from scoring his league-leading 38th goal.
Steve Yzerman sent Detroit on a counterattack, dishing to defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom. Hull took Lidstrom's pass and put a one-timer over the stick of goaltender Marc Denis.
Jason Williams scored twice and Henrik Zetterberg added an empty-netter for the Red Wings, who pulled three points ahead of idle Colorado for first place in the Western Conference.
