The Detroit Red Wings were able to pick up an overtime win against the New York Islanders on Monday. They were able to see their new signee come out and piece together an exceptional game, as has been the case early on in 2023-24.
Detroit Red Wings forward J.T. Compher has been exceptional for the team early on. While he may not be as hot as Alex DeBrincat, his red-hot game on Monday and a good start to the season could mean that there is more in the tank. It’s early, but there’s always room to keep producing and adding offense.
Compher signed a five-year, $25.5 million contract this off-season to join the Red Wings. He’s always been a 200-foot player who plays sound defensively and does a good job producing offensively as well.
Sure, he’s no 40-goal scorer, but he plays a complete game, and on Monday, he was able to do precisely that. It helped his season totals offensively and also may be signaling the start of a run, seeing Compher tap into some offense.
Detroit Red Wings forward J.T. Compher may be primed for a big year.
Compher came out and put up a goal and an assist for a two-point night for the Red Wings. This included a really nice play on the go-ahead goal and an assist on the give-n-go goal by Lucas Raymond to secure the game-winning goal, which might be Raymond waking up as well.
On his goal, Compher looked excellent. He made a good play on the zone entry and ended up getting down low, curling around the net, and getting lost by the opposition. A great feed from Moritz Seider found him out in front, and he buried the puck into the net to put Detroit ahead in the third period.
While New York would come back, the goal was a beauty, here it is:
J.T. Compher goes to the net and gets rewarded with a gorgeous pass from Moritz Seider, which he puts in the net for a 3-2 Red Wings lead!#LGRW pic.twitter.com/ZT7wAa7gl3
— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) October 31, 2023
That was not all. As mentioned, the Islanders tied things up and eventually forced overtime. Compher got it done on the OT-winner as well. He was in the offensive zone with Lucas Raymond. They had a 2-on-1 opportunity, with Raymond controlling the puck near the top of the zone as the Islanders defender laid out.
Raymond dished it across the ice to Compher, who corralled it, faked a shot, and then hit Raymond with the pass, allowing him to bury it and secure the win, snapping the Red Wings’ three-game losing streak. Here’s the play:
THAT’S GAME 🐙
Lucas Raymond and J.T. Compher play catch and the @DetroitRedWings win it in @Energizer overtime! pic.twitter.com/6BgVTD7hi0
— NHL (@NHL) October 31, 2023
These two plays were the highlight-reel ones from Compher on Monday. But he was all over the ice all night long. The name of the game for the Red Wings on Monday night was the forecheck and pressure on the Islanders.
Compher did a great job of doing that. He was often hustling to force plays by the Islanders during the breakout or just putting pressure on the Islanders while the Red Wings were chasing down the puck anywhere on the ice.
Compher’s had a great start to the season in his new home. He’s scored two goals and added four assists for six total points with the Red Wings. Maybe Compher can spark something with his strong game on Monday.