Red Wings activate Patrick Kane off injured reserve; J.T. Compher placed on IR

The Detroit Red Wings are getting back one of their key players.

On Sunday, the team announced they had activated forward Patrick Kane off injured reserve. In response, the Red Wings placed fellow forward J.T. Compher on IR.

Kane has been out of the lineup since Detroit’s 2-1 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Jan. 21 due to an upper-body injury. He was placed on IR last Monday in order to make room for veteran Dominik Shine.

The Buffalo native has missed the last five games in which the Wings have been playing pretty well, to say the least. Detroit has won five straight games, starting off a Western Canadian road trip with wins over the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames. Kane is eligible to return to the lineup on Sunday evening when the Red Wings face the Vancouver Canucks.

Even though he’s missed some time, Kane is one of the team’s top offensive weapons. In 42 games, the 36-year-old has scored 11 goals and 19 assists for 30 points, sitting fifth on the team in scoring.

Compher hasn’t played since Jan. 25, when he received a hard hit from Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Emil Lilleberg. Lilleberg ended up being suspended two games for the hit, while Compher has been listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

The 29-year-old played in Detroit’s first 48 games of the season, potting six goals and 15 assists for 21 points. He has been a little off the pace, which led to him scoring 48 points in 77 games during his first campaign in Hockeytown last year.

The Red Wings (26-21-5) are sixth in the Atlantic Division, one point back of the Lightning for the last Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.