Jets’ Power Play Leads the Way in First Win of the Season

The Winnipeg Jets scored three power-play goals to defeat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 on Sunday afternoon at Little Caesars Arena.

Kyle Connor and Cole Perfetti both posted three points each, while Josh Morrissey posted two assists to lift the Jets to a 3-2 victory.

The game was about a continuation of what went well on Friday night.

Head coach Scott Arniel agreed with the media on Friday night that it felt like a third preseason game for the veteran players when asked.

After losing their home opener to Boston in a game that felt like it had a new identity written all over it, Winnipeg picked up their first win of the season.

Winnipeg started the game with intensity and got their fair share of chances, but John Gibson stood tall early on for Detroit.

The first-period momentum shift came when Tyrel Bauer delivered a heavy hit on JT Compher, prompting Keegan Kolesar to stand up for his teammate.

Winnipeg got a power play following the fight, and Cole Perfetti capitalized on a nice dish by Kyle Connor to make it 1-0.

JT Compher, still upset over the hit he took from Bauer, received an abuse of officials penalty and put Winnipeg back on the power play.

Winnipeg’s power play continued to click on all cylinders as Kyle Connor got the puck on his stick and made a nice backhand play to put the Jets up 2-0.

Winnipeg’s power play was firing on all cylinders, and they didn’t take their foot off the gas heading into the second period.

The Jets got yet another power play opportunity around the five-minute mark of the second period, and Kyle Connor buried the loose puck to make it 3-0. Connor located the puck for his second of the game and snapped it past John Gibson for the Jets’ final goal of the game.

Detroit continued to push back throughout the second period, but the chances they got at 5-on-5 weren’t enough. Winnipeg’s defence continued to plug up the middle of the ice, making it hard for Detroit to get any good shooting lanes.

Finally, after pushing relentlessly in the second half of the second period, Detroit found their first goal of the game and of the season on the power play. It initially looked like Winnipeg may challenge the goal, but Viktor Arvidsson picked up the goal after some weird deflections to cut Winnipeg’s lead to 3-1.

Five minutes into the third period, Emmitt Finnie made it 3-2 and created some doubt for Winnipeg. It was another weird deflection for Detroit, but a goal is a goal and Winnipeg’s lead became just one.

Detroit would get stopped at just two goals and find themselves still looking for a win in 2026-27 as Stuart Skinner shut the door. The Jets’ netminder made 33 saves in his first win as a Winnipeg Jet.