Red Wings' 3rd-period outburst sends them to 5-1 victory over Jets

Ted Kulfan, The Detroit News on Jan 24, 2026

Published in Hockey

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It was frigid outside Saturday in Winnipeg, Canada, but inside the Canada Life Centre the Wings stayed sizzling hot.

Goals from J.T. Compher (second of the game) and Lucas Raymond scored early in the third period to break a tie, then Alex DeBrincat (empty net) and Marco Kasper scored late, sending the Wings to a 5-1 victory.

The victory enabled the Wings (32-16-5, 69 points) to crawl past the Tampa Bay Lightning (68 points) atop the Atlantic Division. The Wings have won eight of their last 10 games (8-1-1) and earned five of six points (2-0-1) on a rugged three-game road trip through Toronto, Minnesota and Winnipeg.

Compher broke a 1-1 tie at 1 minute 43 seconds of the third period. Off the rush, James van Riemsdyk led Emmitt Finnie, who directed a pass through the slot to a hard charging Compher, knocking the puck past goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (Commerce Township) for his eighth goal.

Raymond added his 18th goal at 8:11, giving the Wings a 3-1 lead. Raymond's shot popped high in the air, above and behind Hellebuyck, and deflected off the bar and into the net.

Alex DeBrincat's empty net goal, his 27th goal, sealed the outcome with just under two minutes left, and Kasper added further insurance with his fifth goal 32 seconds later.

Patrick Kane assisted on DeBrincat's goal, moving Kane to within one point (1,373 points) of Mike Modano of a tie for most points by an United States-born player (1,374).

Goaltender John Gibson won his 17th decision in the last 19 games.

Compher and Winnipeg's Cole Koepke had second period goals.

Koepke gave the Jets a 1-0 lead with his fourth goal. After Winnipeg won the draw, the puck went back to defenseman Logan Stanley, whose shot was blocked net-front but the puck landed to Koepke, who backhanded a shot past Gibson at 10:08.

But the Wings answered on Compher's seventh goal. Compher batted a bouncing puck in front of goaltender Hellebuyck at 15:50, tying the game 1-1. Kane appeared to be getting a secondary assist on the play, but Winnipeg's Mark Scheifele briefly gained possession before the puck ultimately got to Compher near the crease.

The Wings were without defenseman Simon Edvinsson (lower body), who missed his second consecutive game. Coach Todd McLellan told reporters before the game Edvinsson will be examined when the Wings return to Detroit and a decision on what to do next will be determined.

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