Jets vs. Red Wings: Kyle Connor's Power-Play Double Lifts Winnipeg to Its First Win of the Season

Twenty-six seconds left, Detroit's net empty, Little Caesars Arena on its feet, and Lucas Raymond with the puck in tight on Stuart Skinner. Then again. Then a third time, until Neal Pionk finally got in the way. For a Sunday matinee, the final minute had the pulse rate of a playoff game.

Skinner survived, and so did the Winnipeg Jets, who beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 on Sunday afternoon for their first win of the season. Kyle Connor scored twice on the power play and assisted on the other goal, which also came with the man advantage. Cole Perfetti had a goal and two assists, Josh Morrissey added two assists, and Skinner made 34 saves.

The Power Play Does the Heavy Lifting

For the first 12 minutes, this looked like a grind. Then Keegan Kolesar and Tyrel Bauer dropped the gloves at 12:10, and Kolesar was also tagged with an unsportsmanlike conduct minor on the play. That handed Winnipeg a power play, and the Jets took about 54 seconds to use it. Connor tried to thread a pass through the slot, Detroit defenseman Justin Faulk got a stick on it, and the puck ricocheted off Perfetti and looped over John Gibson. Ugly? Absolutely. Counted? Also absolutely.

Ninety-two seconds later, Winnipeg was back on the power play and Connor did something a lot prettier. Connor collected a Gabriel Vilardi pass near the top of the right circle, drove straight at Gibson and finished with a backhand that sailed over the goalie's left shoulder for a 2-0 lead.

The third power-play goal came at 5:41 of the second, with Raymond off for holding the stick. Gibson stopped a Morrissey slap shot, the rebound kicked out to the right circle, and Connor buried it for a 3-0 lead. At that point, Winnipeg had three goals on three power-play chances and Detroit had zero answers.

The Red Wings finally broke through on their own power play at 16:52. Andrew Copp sent the puck to the front of the net, and it deflected in off Viktor Arvidsson's left skate for his first goal in a Detroit uniform. Early in the third, Emmitt Finnie made it 3-2 at 4:56, tapping in a Michael Brandsegg-Nygård pass from behind the net as Skinner dove across, out of position.

Connor's Masterclass, Skinner's Stand

Connor was the best player on the ice and it was not especially close. Two goals, an assist, 20:05 of ice time, and, according to NHL.com, he moved past Thomas Steen into fifth place for the most power-play goals in Jets history. NHL.com also noted Connor has 19 points (10 goals, nine assists) in 17 career games against Detroit, so the Red Wings have seen this movie before.

Coach Scott Arniel was more impressed by the stuff that does not show up on the scoresheet. "Through two games, he has just been dominating with the puck," Arniel said. "But the play I remember is him tracking back to break up a 3-on-2."

Perfetti was right behind him with three points, and Morrissey's two assists both came on power-play goals. Connor kept it simple afterward. "The power play obviously gave us a lot of momentum, and we stuck with it," he said.

Then there is Skinner, who earned his first win in his second start for Winnipeg after signing with the Jets on July 1, per NHL.com. He stopped 34 of 36 shots, including the flurry on Raymond. "Your goalie has to be your best penalty-killer and he was definitely that for us tonight," Arniel said.

For Detroit, Copp won 16 of 21 faceoffs and played 23:44, Moritz Seider logged 25:41 with five blocked shots, and Gibson made 24 saves.

The Turning Point: A Kill When It Mattered

Detroit had its chances to tie it. Dylan DeMelo went off for hooking Alex DeBrincat at 15:53 of the third, giving the Red Wings a power play with the building fully engaged. Winnipeg killed it, then survived a 6-on-5 push with Gibson on the bench that ended with Raymond's three looks and Pionk's block.

"I think it is safe to say our special teams played a huge role in that win," Perfetti said. That is putting it mildly.

Red Wings coach Todd McLellan was blunt about his side's special teams. "The penalty kill failed us," he said. He did like the fight in his group, saying his players "aren't digging graves, they are trying to dig themselves out of a hole." Of the final sequence, he added, "It just wouldn't go in."

Stats That Matter

• 3-for-4: Winnipeg's power play. Every Jets goal came with the man advantage.
• 1-for-5: Detroit's power play, including the late chance that could have tied it.
• 36-27: Detroit's edge in shots, which is why Skinner's 34 saves mattered so much.
• 61.1%: Detroit's faceoff win rate, led by Copp's 16 wins.
• 1:32: The span between Winnipeg's first two power-play goals.

What It Means

Winnipeg is 1-0-1 after losing its season opener 4-3 in overtime to Boston at home on Friday. The Jets get no rest, with a trip to Pittsburgh on Monday.

Detroit is 0-2-0 and has scored two goals in two home games, after being shut out 2-0 by the Rangers on Friday. The Red Wings dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen, according to NHL.com, and the AP noted center Dylan Larkin missed the game with an upper-body injury. McLellan saw progress at even strength. "I thought 5-on-5, we created more chances than we did against the Rangers, but we have to find a way to finish," he said. Ottawa visits on Tuesday.

Closing Take

This game was a reminder that special teams are the cheat codes of the NHL regular season. Winnipeg pressed the right buttons three times in four tries and built a lead that its goalie protected through a frantic finish. Detroit outshot, outhit and outdrew the Jets and still lost, which is the hockey equivalent of winning the argument and losing the group vote. Until the Red Wings' penalty kill starts holding up, the nice underlying numbers are just going to keep producing the same final result.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Postgame quotes and game notes from NHL.com; additional details as reported by the Associated Press.