RECAP: Compher, Fabbri each score twice as Red Wings ‘got the job done' in 5-1 win over Blackhawks

DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings wasted no time putting Wednesday’s stinging road loss to the New York Rangers in the rearview mirror.

J.T. Compher and Robby Fabbri each scored twice for the Red Wings in a 5-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday night.

Finishing with 34 saves for Detroit (12-7-3; 27 points), goalie Alex Lyon won his third consecutive game and improved to 3-1-0 with a 1.26 goals-against average and .958 save percentage this season. The loss dropped Chicago to 7-14-0 (14 points) overall.

“I saw a lot of battle and I thought they played really hard,” Lyon said about his teammates. “Tough situation, especially last night when you have an emotional loss like that, it always makes things a little more difficult. But just got to give a lot of credit to the guys. They battled really hard and just got the job done. Showing signs of a mature hockey team.”

Kicking off the scoring at 2:29 of the first period, Compher got Andrew Copp’s feed and wristed in a short-handed goal to put the Red Wings ahead, 1-0. Jake Walman had the secondary assist on Compher’s first goal of the night.

The Blackhawks tied it, 1-1, on the power play just 51 seconds later.

Fabbri regained the lead for Detroit at 8:42. After taking a pass from Walman, Fabbri deked around a Chicago defenseman, skated in and roofed a backhand past Blackhawks goaltender Petr Mrazek for a highlight-reel goal, making it 2-1.

“That was insane,” Compher said of Fabbri’s first-period goal. “That was one of the nicest goals I’ve seen in person. He’s been hot and great for us. We love to see him not only in the lineup, but playing well. No one works harder than that guy.”

Ben Chiarot pushed the lead to 3-1 at 5:09 of the second period, cleaning up a rebound from Alex DeBrincat’s shot for his first goal since Oct. 18. Lucas Raymond picked up an assist on the play.

Compher struck again just 47 seconds later on the power play, giving the Red Wings a 4-1 advantage. Space opened for Raymond to thread a pass into the left face-off circle for David Perron, who set up Compher at the back post.

“When the power play is buzzing and playing well, it kind of feeds the rest of the team in the game,” said Compher, who is the first Red Wings skater to score a power-play and short-handed goal in the same game since Frans Nielsen did so on Oct. 26, 2017 at Tampa Bay.

With 9:06 remaining, Fabbri scored his second goal, this one on the power play, for the 5-1 final. Moritz Seider and Daniel Sprong recorded the assists, while Fabbri registered his first multi-goal game since Dec. 9, 2021, at St. Louis. 

Although Detroit got the end result it wanted Wednesday, head coach Derek Lalonde said the Red Wings must clean some things up moving forward.

"It's just funny," Lalonde said. "We played so much better last night. You look at that game tonight, our best player was our goalie and we finished. They outchanced and outshot us. Underlying categories are going to say they were better than us. We'll have to handle it a little bit better, probably a little fatigue in there."

NEXT UP: Detroit will kick off a two-game road trip Saturday night, first playing the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre.

QUOTABLE

Lalonde on the status of captain Dylan Larkin, who missed the last two games

"I would expect Dylan back for us this Saturday."

Lalonde on the state of Fabbri's game

"He's just putting himself in position. He's got a special NHL-type stick. Good on him and obviously, just another person to add some scoring depth for us."

Compher on the Red Wings' start against the Blackhawks

“I thought we started pretty well. We’d like to not let them get one on their power play. But overall, when we’re starting well, it just sets up the rest of the game for us.”

Compher on Detroit's play since returning from the Global Series

“I think it’s been our competitiveness first. It’s been every game, consistent and a big part of why we’re being successful, but also maturity. When we’re playing our structure correctly and fast, we’re a tough team to beat. We’re starting to see the results when we do it right for 60 minutes.”