J.T. Compher scored the go-ahead goal on a power play with 5:34 left as the Detroit Red Wings defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2 on Tuesday night.
Detroit’s coach Todd McLellan, who took over for Derek Lalonde last week, earned his 600th career win. He is now 2-1-0 behind the Red Wings’ bench.
Compher and Jonatan Berggren each had a goal and an assist, while Patrick Kane and Dylan Larkin also scored for Detroit. Alex Lyon made 23 saves in goal.
Drew O’Connor scored twice for Pittsburgh, marking the second multigoal game of his career. Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 21 shots.
With the win, Detroit took the season series 2-1.
Compher’s decisive goal came while Erik Karlsson was in the penalty box for tripping. Compher tipped in a shot by Erik Gustafsson, who had hit the post with a shot from the point.
Larkin added an empty-net goal with 14 seconds left to seal the win.
Detroit got on the board first at 7:52 of the first period. Vladimir Tarasenko made a perfect pass from his own zone to Berggren, who broke away and beat Nedeljkovic with a shot to the top shelf. Compher earned the second assist on the play.
Pittsburgh tied it at 18:29 of the first when O’Connor’s slapshot from the right circle, off a pass from Cody Glass, beat Lyon on the short side.
Detroit regained the lead on a power play at 3:41 of the second. With Glass in the penalty box for tripping, Kane fired a shot from the right circle that went past Nedeljkovic’s glove. Alex DeBrincat and Lucas Raymond assisted on the goal.
Pittsburgh had a chance to respond on the power play when Larkin was called for holding, but Detroit’s penalty kill kept them off the board.
In the closing seconds of the second period, Detroit defenseman Moritz Seider blocked two shots from Anthony Beauvillier during a scramble in front of the net with Lyon out of position, preserving the Red Wings’ 2-1 lead.
The Penguins tied the game early in the third while Jeff Petry was in the penalty box. O’Connor scored on a rebound while being knocked to his knees, with assists from Karlsson and Sidney Crosby.
