Winnipeg Jets at Detroit Red Wings

Greetings from Detroit, where the Winnipeg Jets will open the road portion of this new season against the Red Wings.

After getting a point in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins on Friday, the Jets will try to get into the win column for the first time this season as they open a two-game road trip that also features a game on Monday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Jets left-winger Kyle Connor was flying in the lid lifter, scoring a goal while accumulating nine shots on goal and 14 shot attempts.

“That’s just him,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel. “When he’s involved like that, and he usually is, he’s an elite player. There’s a lot of guys in this league that get recognition. Sometimes, he gets overlooked. But we know what we have. We have a special player.

“That release. I don’t know if I’ve seen many guys that can shoot the puck and get it off his stick like he does, and it catches goalies off guard. But the other part of it for me is that how hard he played without the puck. He structurally as a penalty killer did a great job there. The power play. He was a key part of that as well. He plays a big role for us.”

Being from Michigan, Connor always enjoys returning to his home state to play in front of family members and friends.

If his performance in Friday’s opener is a sign of things to come, could Connor flirt with 50 goals or reach 100 points for the first time in his career?

Only time will tell, but there’s no disputing he was the most dangerous player on the ice on Friday.

Winnipeg Jets forward Kyle Connor had 14 shot attempts Friday. He scored once. Ken says if it's a sign of things to come from Connor, 50 goals could be in play for the star forward. (Frank Franklin II / Associated Press files)

Winnipeg Jets forward Kyle Connor had 14 shot attempts Friday. He scored once. Ken says if it’s a sign of things to come from Connor, 50 goals could be in play for the star forward. (Frank Franklin II / Associated Press files)

“Oh man, it’s impressive what that guy can do. Impressive what he can do on the ice,” said Jets goalie Stuart Skinner, who is expected to be back between the pipes for his second start after making 26 saves in the opener. “He’s the type of guy that’s got a lot of speed, good hands, good IQ level. He’s one of those guys that can do it all.”

John Gibson is the anticipated starter for the Red Wings, who lost 2-0 to the New York Rangers on Friday in their season opener and find themselves in an interesting spot.

Dylan Larkin was stripped of the captaincy and booed lustily during the introductions prior to the Red Wings home opener.

Much like Connor Hellebuyck, Larkin is waiting to be traded, the difference being that he showed up for training camp (though he is dealing with an upper-body injury).

The Red Wings are also without up-and-coming defenceman Simon Edvinsson, who is back in Sweden waiting for a new contract or for a trade to materialize.

Former Jets forward Andrew Copp is currently playing centre on the top line, Ben Chiarot is patrolling the second pairing, Mason Appleton is on the fourth line and Manitoban Keegan Kolesar is settling in with his new team on the third line after being acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights.

—Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe

Dish. The latest on food and drink in Winnipeg and beyond from arts writers Ben Sigurdson and Eva Wasney.

FROM THE PRESS BOX

MIKE SAYS: It’s obviously far too early to say whether this year’s team is going to be better than last year’s. But I don’t think it’s jumping the gun to say that the present Jets are a lot more exciting and entertaining than the recent past ones.

My lead for Friday’s game story was simple – Younger, Faster, Stronger. And those traits were all on display against Boston. Now, the key is to make sure that quickly becomes the standard, rather than the exception. But I really like the mix of experience and youth on this roster.

I did leave the rink wondering how long Brad Lambert is going to last in his current spot, skating on a checking line with Adam Lowry and Morgan Barron. I thought Lambert just had a so-so training camp and pre-season, and both the eye test and the analytics suggest he really struggled on Friday.

I see a couple potential tweaks Arniel could make. One would be elevating someone from the fourth line – Alex Iafallo, perhaps – and moving Lambert down to play with Nino Niedrreiter and Vlad Namestnikov. That might be worth a look, as it would also add some speed to a fourth line that’s lacking it.

Another would be bringing Cole Koepke into the lineup, something I suspect is going to happen sooner than later. Koepke plays the type of game Winnipeg wants to play – quick and aggressive – while also bringing some physicality. He could side right into that line with Lowry and Barron, or, if someone like Iafallo moved up, onto the fourth line.

Bottom line is, Lambert shouldn’t get too comfortable.

It was encouraging to see two of Winnipeg’s goals against Boston come from defenceman, and perhaps a bit surprising that they weren’t off the stick of the usual suspects in Josh Morrissey and Neal Pionk. Activating the blue-line and getting involved in the offence is a major part of the modern game, and the Jets are off to a nice start in that department.

KEN SAYS: It was an entertaining opener, with the Jets showing many of the qualities they’ve been hammering home since training camp began.

They played with pace, adhered to structure and showed improvement on special teams with the Jets moving the puck efficiently, generating a lot of dangerous scoring chances and getting a power-play marker from Connor that was set up by a shifty net drive down low from Cole Perfetti.

As for Perfetti, this was a nice start for him on his promotion to the top line with Connor and Mark Scheifele. Although his assist came with the man-advantage, Perfetti was also noticeable at even strength.

His final stat line included four shots on goal, seven shot attempts, three hits and a blocked shot.

Obviously, it’s going to take some time to build chemistry with the two players that are so familiar with one another, but Perfetti was hounding the puck effectively and if he can continue to produce, it will allow the Jets to keep Gabriel Vilardi with Viggo Bjorck.

Much has been written about Bjorck and the impact he might be able to make.

Bjorck didn’t find the scoresheet in his NHL debut, but his hockey sense, skill and tenacity were all on display during his nearly 16 minutes of ice time.

Arniel wasn’t afraid to lean on Bjorck in tough situations throughout the contest and the eighth overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft answered the challenge while showcasing plenty of poise, which earned him a shift in three-on-three overtime.

“He was going head-to-head with one of their top offensive lines and I thought he did real well,” said Arniel. “Every day for him is a learning day. As he gets into these situations, he seems like a kid that can really mentally handle that stuff. He sees the ice well.”

Former Brandon Wheat Kings centre Nate Danielson made the Red Wings roster after recovering from an injury-plagued season. The ninth overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft had one shot on goal in 9:41 of ice time in the opener, which was his 29th game with the Red Wings since turning pro in 2024.

PROJECTED LINES

WINNIPEG JETS

FORWARDS

Connor-Scheifele-Perfetti

Rosen-Bjorck-Vilardi

Barron-Lowry-Lambert

Niederreiter-Namestnikov-Iafallo

DEFENCE

Morrissey-DeMelo

Samberg-Pionk

Ferraro-Bauer

GOAL

Skinner

Stevenson

Healthy scratches: D Fleury, D St. Ivany, LW Koepke

Injured: D Salomonsson (shoulder), D Brown (lower body), RW Duehr (lower body)

RED WINGS

FORWARDS

DeBrincat-Copp-Raymond

Arvidsson-Finnie-Brandsegg Nygard

Rasmussen-Compher-Kolesar

Appleton-Danielson-Mazur

DEFENCE

Albert Johansson-Seider

Chiarot-Sandin Pellikka

Faulk-Anton Johansson

GOAL

Gibson

Tarasov

Healthy scratches: D Englund, D Wallinder

Injured: C Dylan Larkin (upper body), C Marco Kasper (upper body), LW Carter Bear (upper body). D Jacob Bernard-Docker (upper body).

NOTABLE QUOTABLE

Jets F Nino Niederreiter on the 4-3 OT loss in the season opener:

“Obviously, it’s a short training camp, so you have to make sure that you’re ready right from the get-go and that’s what we did. It was definitely a very winnable game for us. It sucks we couldn’t finish the job.”

WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON

Ken is on the scene in Detroit and will provide the game analysis. He will also have a sidebar on how backup goalie Clay Stevenson is settling in with his new team. Both stories will be in Monday’s print edition and online at winnipegfreepress com.