Patrick Kane gets Chicago kudos, then winning goal in Detroit Red Wings' 3-2 OT victory

CHICAGO — Patrick Kane celebrated his return to United Center by helping his new teammates celebrate a fifth straight victory.

The Chicago Blackhawks' jersey retirement ceremony for Chris Chelios and the welcome-back tribute to Kane were memorable moments Sunday, but the best part for the Wings was when Kane snapped a shot in overtime past goalie Petr Mrazek to best Chicago, 3-2.

It was Kane's second overtime goal in three games, and put the Wings (32-20-6) back in the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

While the Wings are trying to secure a foothold in the playoff race, the Blackhawks are near the bottom of the NHL standings, in contention for the best odds in the draft lottery again. They had the good fortune last season to move from third to first overall and select Connor Bedard, who had an assist Sunday but was thwarted by James Reimer on a breakaway in the third period.

Daniel Sprong picked up his 16th goal of the season to provide a first-period lead, but the Wings entered the third period with a deficit. There was four minutes and change on the clock when Alex DeBrincat angled the puck in behind Mrazek, himeself a former Red Wing, to tie the game. Kane got the first assist to extend his scoring streak to eight games.

Thank you, Patrick

Chelios was the first to publicly welcome Kane back to United Center, doing so during the ceremony raising his No. 7 jersey to the United Center rafters ahead of the game. Fans responded with cheers — but the loudest ones came during the first timeout of the game, when a tribute video was shown on the video board underneath the headline, "Thank you Patrick." It highlighted the arrival of Kane, himself a No. 1 overall pick, with the Blackhawks in 2007-08 and went on through his Stanley Cup championships in 2010, 2013 and 2015. When the video ended, players for both teams tapped their sticks and fans cheered as Kane took first one lap, then another, and then a third, to acknowledge the rousing welcome.

Fourth line delivers

General manager Steve Yzerman was at the game. The trade deadline is coming up on March 8, but Yzerman may not want to change much of what he has. There's enough depth that both Sprong and Robby Fabbri are on the fourth line. That was the group that delivered a lead in the final minute of the opening period, when Fabbri intercepted the puck in his own zone, maneuvered it through the neutral zone and got it to Christian Fischer. Sprong got the goal, somehow managing to score even as he stumbled forward and fell to the ice.

Second-period woes

The Wings gave up two goals in the second period. MacKenzie Entwistle scored at 3:29, taking advantage of Reimer being out of the net to finish Reese Johnson's behind-the-net setup. At the 17-minute mark, Lucas Raymond was called for slashing; 52 seconds later, Nick Foligno was in position in front of the net to have Connor Bedard's rising shot deflect off him to put the Blackhawks ahead, 2-1.

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.

Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from  Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings rally to beat Chicago Blackhawks, 3-2, in overtime