Detroit Red Wings take off with 5 unanswered goals in win over Jets

The Detroit Red Wings added another two points to their record as they broke through on their arctic road trip.

J.T. Compher had two goals as the Wings feasted in their final stop on a three-game trip, winning, 5-1, on Saturday, Jan. 24, at Canada Life Centre against the lowly Winnipeg Jets.

Patrick Kane earned an assist on Alex DeBrincat’s empty-net goal in the third period to reach 1,373 career points, two shy of passing metro-Detroit native (and former Red Wing) Mike Modano for most NHL points by a U.S.-born player.

Kane would have tied Modano with the assist to DeBrincat, had he held onto an assist he was credited with on Compher’s first goal. Kane touched the puck behind the net, but lost control and Jets forward Mark Schiefele kicked it before losing control to Andrew Copp, who delivered an assist on the goal that tied the game. During a review during the second intermission, the assist was taken away from Kane on the change of possession.

SIMON SITS: Edvinsson injury update: Lower-body ailment nixes young Swede

Red Wings playoff chase

The win puts the Wings (32-16-5) alone atop the Atlantic Division with 69 points, two up on the Tampa Bay Lightning, who lost on Saturday night. (The Lightning have played three fewer games, however.) The Wings are also tied with the Metropolitan Division-leading Carolina Hurricanes (who also won Saturday) for first place in the East, though the ’Canes have played one fewer game.

Next up, the Wings return to Detroit for their final three home games before the Olympic break next month. The first visitor: the Los Angeles Kings, who are fighting for a wild-card spot in the Western Conference, on Tuesday (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Detroit Extra).

Ice and fire for Wings

The Wings went 2-0-1 on a frozen tundra trip that began with an 2-1 overtime victory at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday and was followed by an 4-3 overtime loss at the Minnesota Wild on Thursday.

Winnipeg’s Cole Koepke scored first Saturday, but the Wings answered with two goals from Compher, one in the second period and the next two minutes into the third period. Lucas Raymond added his 19th goal of the season near the midpoint of the second period, on a shot which bounced off the crossbar and off the back of goalie Connor Hellebuyck (Commerce), and DeBrincat notched his 27th goal of the season into an empty net in the final two minutes of the game. Marco Kasper finished the scoring with his fourth goal of the season with 1:17 to play.

Saturday’s win gives the Wings seven points in their past four outings, with eight wins in 10 games.

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com.

Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.