Jets Beat Red Wings 3-2 as Power Play Takes Over

Kyle Connor scored twice on the power play as Winnipeg beat Detroit 3-2. The Jets now face Pittsburgh while Detroit awaits Dylan Larkin.

Winnipeg needed exactly three goals to get its first win of the season. All three came on the power play.

Kyle Connor scored twice and added an assist, Cole Perfetti had a goal and two assists, and Stuart Skinner made 33 saves as the Jets beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 Sunday afternoon at Little Caesars Arena.

The final score matched the pregame projection exactly. The route to 3-2 was more revealing. Detroit played another strong game defensively at even strength despite missing Dylan Larkin and Marco Kasper, but Winnipeg punished the Red Wings whenever the game moved to special teams. The Jets went 3-for-4 on the power play and built a 3-0 lead before Detroit finally found its first goals of the season.

Winnipeg Needed Only 92 Seconds

The game changed late in the first period when Detroit gave Winnipeg consecutive opportunities with the man advantage. Perfetti opened the scoring at 13:04 after Justin Faulk deflected the puck into the slot and the bounce went off Perfetti and over John Gibson.

Connor made it 2-0 only 1:32 later. Gabriel Vilardi found him above the right circle, Connor attacked the net and lifted a backhand over Gibson’s left shoulder. Perfetti picked up the secondary assist, the 100th of his NHL career.

Detroit had spent most of the opening period staying structurally sound against Winnipeg’s top forwards. Two power plays erased that work almost immediately.

Connor Struck Again in the Second

Winnipeg received another power play early in the second and converted again. Gibson stopped a Josh Morrissey shot from the point, but Connor found the rebound near the right circle and scored at 5:41 to make it 3-0.

Through two games, Connor now has three goals and five points. He scored and added an assist in Winnipeg’s 4-3 overtime loss to Boston, then produced two goals and an assist in Detroit.

The scoring is familiar. The way Winnipeg is creating it is particularly important while the club adjusts to life without Connor Hellebuyck. The Jets do not need Skinner to reproduce Vezina-level goaltending every night if Connor, Perfetti, Vilardi and the first power-play unit continue manufacturing goals at this rate.

Detroit Finally Scored

The Red Wings entered Sunday having been shut out by the Rangers in their opener and spent most of another afternoon without a goal. Viktor Arvidsson finally ended the drought at 16:52 of the second period.

Detroit had its own power play when Andrew Copp sent the puck toward the crease. It deflected in off Arvidsson’s skate for his first goal as a Red Wing and cut Winnipeg’s lead to 3-1.

The goal gave Detroit some life before intermission, and the pressure carried into the third. Emmitt Finnie scored at 4:56 after Michael Brandsegg-Nygård worked the puck from behind the net, cutting the deficit to one.

Suddenly the same Detroit team that had gone nearly five periods without scoring was one goal from erasing a 3-0 deficit.

Skinner Closed the Door

Detroit finished with 35 shots, 13 more than it generated against New York in the opener. The Red Wings pushed hard enough in the third to force Winnipeg into protection mode rather than simply managing out a comfortable win.

Skinner handled it. He stopped 33 of 35 shots for his first victory with Winnipeg, including two close-range chances from Lucas Raymond with 26 seconds remaining and Gibson on the bench for the extra attacker.

That performance mattered after Skinner allowed four goals in his Winnipeg debut against Boston. The Jets still have an enormous long-term question in net with Hellebuyck suspended after failing to report to camp, but Sunday’s version of Skinner was enough to preserve a one-goal game when Detroit mounted its late push.

Detroit’s Defense Is Not the Problem Yet

The strange part of Detroit’s 0-2 start is that its five-on-five defense has been excellent. Todd McLellan pointed out after Sunday’s loss that the Red Wings have now played six periods without allowing a five-on-five goal.

New York’s only goal against Gibson in the opener came on the power play before an empty-netter made it 2-0. Winnipeg then scored all three of its goals Sunday with the man advantage.

Detroit has therefore allowed five goals through two games, with four coming on opposing power plays and one into an empty net. That is a very unusual way to begin 0-2.

The Red Wings’ problem has been converting solid even-strength defense into winning hockey. Their penalty kill has given away the margin the five-on-five structure keeps creating, while the offense has produced only two goals through two games.

The Missing Centers Still Mattered

Larkin and Kasper both missed Sunday with upper-body injuries, forcing Detroit to rebuild its lineup through the middle again. Andrew Copp centered Alex DeBrincat and Raymond on the first line, while Finnie moved into a larger role between Brandsegg-Nygård and Arvidsson.

Finnie responded with Detroit’s second goal and Brandsegg-Nygård created it. McLellan called Brandsegg-Nygård’s performance his best game as a Red Wing and praised the physicality and willingness to shoot that he brought to the lineup.

The replacements gave Detroit enough to make the game competitive. The lineup still missed the player who normally drives transition, handles major power-play responsibility and organizes the top six through the middle.

Larkin participated in a limited fashion before Sunday’s game, and McLellan said he hoped the center could return Tuesday against Ottawa. There has been no confirmed Monday morning announcement that he will play. Kasper was scheduled to be reevaluated after missing Sunday, so his status also remains unresolved.

The Power Play Changed Winnipeg’s Outlook

The original matchup looked like a test of Winnipeg’s offensive depth against Detroit’s depleted center group. Winnipeg won through something more concentrated.

Its top power-play personnel decided the game. Perfetti, Connor and Vilardi were involved in all three goals, with Morrissey helping create the rebound on the eventual winner. Winnipeg needed only four opportunities to produce the entire margin.

That gives the Jets another way to survive games while the goaltending situation remains unsettled. Winnipeg has scored six goals through two games, Connor already has five points and the power play demonstrated that one or two Detroit penalties could undo long stretches of otherwise successful defending.

Winnipeg Plays Again Tonight

The Jets do not get much time to enjoy the first win. Winnipeg plays Monday night in Pittsburgh, completing a road back-to-back against a Penguins team that has opened 2-0.

Skinner played all 60 minutes Sunday, so Winnipeg may turn to Clay Stevenson in Pittsburgh. Scott Arniel indicated before the trip that he expected to use both goaltenders during the Detroit-Pittsburgh back-to-back, although the starter had not been officially confirmed Monday morning.

That would give Stevenson his first appearance as a Jet against Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and a Pittsburgh team that has scored 13 goals through two games.

The current market reflects the schedule and goaltending uncertainty. Pittsburgh was around -168 to -178 Monday morning, with Winnipeg approximately +142 to +146 and the total at 6.5. Those prices should be refreshed again near puck drop once the starting goaltenders are confirmed.

Detroit Gets Ottawa Next

The Red Wings remain home Tuesday against the Ottawa Senators, who opened their season with a 3-2 win in Toronto.

That game could look very different if Larkin returns. Detroit has defended well enough at five-on-five to remain competitive in both losses, and Sunday finally produced some offense from Arvidsson, Finnie and the younger players around them.

The immediate priority is the penalty kill. Detroit can survive games where Gibson allows one goal at even strength because so far he has allowed none. It cannot keep giving opponents multiple power-play goals while its own offense operates with such a thin margin.

The early Ottawa-Detroit market was essentially a pick’em, with both sides around -111 and the total at 5.5 before Monday’s injury updates. That number is especially sensitive to Larkin’s status and should be treated as an early snapshot rather than a final price.

The 3-2 Score Told the Story

The original projection had Winnipeg winning 3-2, and that was exactly where the game landed. The reasoning also held in broad terms: Winnipeg had more established offensive creation available while Detroit tried to reorganize without Larkin and Kasper.

The actual separator was even cleaner. Detroit went another entire game without allowing a five-on-five goal and still lost because Winnipeg’s power play scored three times. Connor supplied the finishing, Perfetti connected the possessions and Skinner protected the final one-goal margin.

Final: Winnipeg Jets 3, Detroit Red Wings 2. Winnipeg leaves Detroit 1-0-1 and heads directly into another game in Pittsburgh. Detroit falls to 0-2 despite six periods of strong five-on-five defense, with the return of Larkin and a repair of the penalty kill now looming as the two biggest variables before Ottawa arrives Tuesday.

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