Pittsburgh Review

Patrick Kane and J.T. Compher were instrumental in the Detroit Red Wings' 4-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins at Little Caesars Arena on Tuesday. Compher's power-play goal at 14:26 of the third period broke a 2-2 tie, following Erik Gustafsson’s point shot that hit the post and Alex Nedeljkovic’s back before Compher pushed it in.

Nedeljkovic commented on the play, saying, “I thought maybe I could get a line of vision on [Rasmussen’s] left and obviously the puck went right.”

Compher and Jonatan Berggren each contributed a goal and an assist for Detroit (15-18-4), which is now 2-1-0 under new coach Todd McLellan. Alex Lyon made 23 saves during the game.

The win marked McLellan's 600th NHL career victory. He expressed his satisfaction with the team's performance, stating, “Tonight was more about this group than about me.”

Drew O'Connor scored both goals for Pittsburgh (17-17-5), marking his first two-goal game since October 2021. Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan praised O'Connor's recent performance, saying, “I told him before the game that his last game was the best he had played in months.”

Nedeljkovic, facing his former team, made 21 saves. Reflecting on the match, he said, “We might have been a little slow to start, but it went back and forth.”

Berggren opened scoring for Detroit with a breakaway goal at 7:52 of the first period after receiving a pass from Vladimir Tarasenko. Berggren noted, “[Tarasenko] saw me coming there and made a really good pass.”

O’Connor tied it at 1-1 late in the first period by converting Cody Glass’ pass into a goal. He described it as “a really patient play.”

Kane restored Detroit's lead early in the second period with another power-play goal assisted by Alex DeBrincat. The Penguins nearly equalized again but were thwarted by Moritz Seider’s block just before intermission.

O’Connor managed to level the score once more early in the third period with his second goal of the night.

After Compher secured Detroit's lead again, Dylan Larkin sealed their victory with an empty-net goal at 19:46.

In other notes from the game, Erik Karlsson briefly left after being hit by a shot but returned later. Coach Sullivan humorously remarked about Karlsson’s condition post-injury: “He’s fine – he’s just not as handsome.” The Red Wings have shown strong New Year’s Eve performances historically.