The first Stanley Cup playoffs game in Nationwide Arena last night ended like so many regular-season Blue Jackets games through the years -- a smattering of boos after the first two periods and a steady stream of fans leaving early in the third.

It was a sobering night for hockey fans in Columbus.

The Blue Jackets took another large step toward a quick playoff exit with a 4-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings before a record crowd of 19,219.

"We've let the fans down, we've let ourselves down and we've let the coaching staff down," goaltender Steve Mason said.

"We know it's going to be difficult now. But I don't think anybody is going to lose hope until it's over."

The Blue Jackets face what coach Ken Hitchcock called a sudden-death situation when they host Game 4 Thursday.

Perhaps sudden death would be merciful at this point.

The Blue Jackets played their best game of the series -- they actually put a little heat on Red Wings goaltender Chris Osgood -- but still didn't come close to winning.

The Red Wings took a 1-0 lead at 1:07 of the first period, with Tomas Holmstrom jumping on a neutral-zone turnover by Manny Malhotra and turning it into a goal with the help of Marian Hossa.

That wasn't enough to quiet the crowd.

But Dan Cleary's goal with 45.1 seconds left in the first -- a sweeping backhanded shot from the slot off a rebound -- took a lot of starch out of the masses.

It was a kick in the pants for the Blue Jackets, too, who have never held a lead in the best-of-seven series.

"That second goal was a killer," Hitchcock said. "It took us half a period or two-thirds of a period to recover."

A one-minute span in the second period encapsulates the series: At 12:59, Blue Jackets forward R.J. Umberger was pulling the puck off the wall coming out of his zone when Wings defenseman Brad Stuart broadsided him with a hip-to-head check that sent Umberger's world a-spinning.

Only 29 seconds later, Blue Jackets defenseman Mike Commodore tried to freight-train Cleary on the opposite side of the ice, but missed and went sailing into the Red Wings bench, landing next to a chuckling Hossa.

Commodore dug himself out of the bench, went back on the ice and was roughing up Detroit's Johan Franzen in the corner when Red Wings center Henrik Zetterberg scored from between the circles to make it 3-0.

The Red Wings have been far more physical than the Blue Jackets anticipated. The Blue Jackets have tried to check the Red Wings, but they can't quite catch up to the players or the puck. And while all of this is going on, Detroit just keeps scoring.

Zetterberg's goal was the 10th straight scored by the Wings in the series.

"Our issue now is being discouraged," Hitchcock said. "We're getting no reward for the work we've put in, and we have to learn to deal with that because it happens in the playoffs. To me, it's all about keep playing now. Detroit squeezes the life out of you."

The Blue Jackets gave the locals a reason to cheer late in the game.

Umberger, who stunned many by returning from Stuart's hit, scored a power-play goal with 3:53 left to make it 3-1. But the Red Wings controlled play the rest of the way. Zetterberg's empty-netter with 30.6 seconds left capped the scoring.

"You have to (keep faith)," Blue Jackets center Antoine Vermett e said. "We have to keep going. All in, and everybody gives everthing they have."

aportzline@dispatch.com