J.T. Compher Rises with Playoffs in the Balance

J.T. Compher said Monday that he’s never been in a game quite like last night’s 5-4 overtime win against Montreal. He’s probably just being humble — a Stanley Cup final and 69 other playoff games probably clear.

In fact, it’s Compher’s familiarity with these types of must-win games that makes him such a valuable asset to Detroit’s lineup. Brought in during the offseason to be a top six center, Compher has played more minutes and more shifts than any other forward.

So it really wasn’t a surprise that Compher was one of the Red Wings’ most important players on the ice against the Canadiens, potting two crucial goals to keep them afloat after a disastrous first two periods. When Detroit trailed 2-0 and 4-1 Compher found a response goal to provide the spark that led to the Red Wings’ comeback fire.

While there might have been bigger games in Compher’s career, there aren’t many bigger goals than his 4-2 tally near the end of the third period. That goal — on the heels of a shift where forward Lucas Raymond got crunched with a big hit and Montreal scored immediately after — gave the Red Wings some life when anyone could’ve left them for dead.

“I thought the goal going into the (third) period was huge,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said. “So we talked about ‘We need one before the end of the period.’ Again, positive by the group. They’ve hung in there many of those situations, understanding the feel for it too, getting that second one to give us a chance going into the third and we obviously got it.”

Lalonde probably knew Compher could light that fire given his earlier play. He scored the proximity goal to halve a 2-0 deficit in the first period, and he showed a lot of jump to that point. In giving Compher and the second line the response shift immediately after the 4-1 goal, he gave them a lot of responsibility in that moment to sway the game back Detroit’s way. Thirty-three seconds later, Compher scored, and the Red Wings got some juice back. The goal marked his career-high 19th of the season.

But the Red Wings didn’t just bring Compher in to bring calm, too. That’s why he starts the highest percentage of any Detroit forward in the defensive zone (20.5%) and why he plays the least percentage of shifts on the fly (49.9%). He brings calm to the lineup — sometimes with goals, and other times with handling response shifts and the first shift of overtime.

There were times this season that Compher didn’t have such a pronounced impact. He couldn’t shoulder the first-line center responsibilities when Dylan Larkin was injured in March, and his offensive footprint has been inconsistent at times this season. But on Monday, in the clutch moments, in the dark moments, Compher showed up. While the heroics of Lucas Raymond get a lot of attention — rightfully so with a game-tying and game-winning goal to his name — Compher’ impact was also integral to the victory.

As the playoff atmosphere continues in Montreal tonight, Compher has to continue his clutch play when the chips are down.

“I don't think there's a challenge in the mindset, and we know what we need to do,” Compher said Monday. “All tonight did was give us an opportunity to finish the job tomorrow.”

All Compher did was keep Detroit afloat when the season looked bleak, and because of him they’ve still got a chance at making the playoffs. If they can get the rest of the way with a win Tuesday night and some help from Philadelphia beating Washington, Compher’s heroics might prove even larger.

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