Jets Drop Lopsided Affair to Red Wings

The Winnipeg Jets have finally concluded their gruelling stretch of nine home games in 19 days. 

On Saturday evening, the Jets dropped their ninth game of the month, this time by way of a 5-1 final against the visiting Detroit Red Wings. 

"I think we just kind of stopped playing with speed and were a little too cute with the puck," forward Cole Koepke said of his team's performance.

"I think at first, when we had success, we were advancing zones, making sure we got it in, putting pressure on their D and getting it back. And we definitely got away from that in the third."

The game was also the final test of the three-game homestand.

Koepke scored the lone goal for Winnipeg, while JT Compher got two goals for Detroit, including the winner, to which the Red Wings scored four times in the third period.

After a scoreless first period, the two clubs exchanged goals in the middle stanza. 

First, Koepke found himself in the right place at the right time, as he banked home a rebound off a blocked Logan Stanley point shot, opening the scoring midway through the period.

"Offensive draw, and Barron did a good job of winning to clean back, and we were just getting bodies to the net, and Stanley did a good job delivering it, and it went off, means kind of landed there, perfect for me," Koepke reflected on his marker.

Then, with time ticking down, JT Compher cashed in on a net-front battle and shovelled home his seventh of the season past a bewildered Connor Hellebuyck. 

Detroit maintained a 23-19 shot lead through 40 minutes of play.

Compher stayed hot, punching home his second of the game just 1:43 into the third period. It was the second goal against for the Schenn-Stanley pairing. 

Moments after a big glove save from John Gibson on Adam Lowry, the Red Wings added to their lead on what appeared to be a high stick from Marco Kasper. However, it was deemed that Kasper did not touch the puck, and the Lucas Raymond's goal stood, making it 3-1 for the visitors. 

Alex DeBrincat added an empty net tally with 1:49 to play, before Kasper beat Hellebuyck on a two-on-one rush 32 seconds later, making it a rather lopsided 5-1 final. 

“You know, it wasn't super pretty for two periods," Compher said. "It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great, and we stuck with it and ended up finding a way to win.”

Hellebuyck turned aside just 26 of the 30 pucks sent his way, while Gibson made 25 saves on 26 shots faced for Detroit. 

Winnipeg now heads out on the road for four-straight games, featuring stops in New Jersey, Tampa Bay, Florida and Dallas, before returning home for one game against Montreal before their Olympic break. 

"You got to just control what you can control," defenceman Dylan DeMelo said. "We can't control other outcomes or anything like that. We got to try to get points and get wins. Obviously, timing is of the essence. And we don't have any leeway at all. We’ve got to win some games and string them together. But even then, if we get the next one, we just focus on the next one and go from there. We’re not going to win or get in the playoffs and just win one game. But we got to focus on one game at a time and try to get the ball rolling.”