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Game Recap: Jets @ Red Wings

Oct 30, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Winnipeg Jets left wing Kyle Connor (81) scores a goal as Detroit Red Wings goaltender Alex Lyon (34) tends the net during the first period at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-Imagn Images

The Winnipeg Jets were hoping to bounce back from their first loss of the season as they headed out on the road to face off against the Detroit Red Wings. Despite the lackadaisical effort by the forward units on Monday, coach Scott Arniel kept his lineup exactly the same on Wednesday evening.

Here is PuckPedia’s projected starting roster:

In between the pipes for tonight’s clash were Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck and Detroit’s Alex Lyon.

GAME RECAP

The Jets started the game on time for once, as they shot out of the gate once the puck was dropped in Michigan. In particular, it was local boy Kyle Connor who was inspired by having his parents in the crowd and the sniper was flying all over the ice last night. Less than 3 minutes into the contest, Connor skated down the left wing with the puck on his stick, before he sauced a perfect cross-ice pass to find Gabriel Vilardi for Winnipeg’s opening goal. The Jets’ top line wasn’t done there, as they were back at it on their following shift…this time Connor took a shot on net from the left face-off circle and Mark Scheifele attempted to tip it by the Wing’s Alex Lyon. The tender was able to get a pad on the deflection, but the rebound juicily popped out for an easy goal for Neal Pionk. With a 2-0 lead just 4 minutes into the game, Winnipeg almost added to their goal total when Cole Perfetti ripped a backhand off the crossbar before Detroit started to try to work their way back into the match. While the Red Wings were able to control the puck a bit more, it was the Jets who added a third marker when Connor & Vilardi performed a perfect give & go for KFC’s 9th goal of the year.

The officials did their best in the 2nd period to get the home team back into the match by awarding the Wings three straight powerplays. Winnipeg’s penalty killers did a good job limiting opportunities on the first chance, but Detroit was able to capitalize on the next 2 to make the game much tighter (3-2 WPG). The Jets did outshoot the Red Wings in the middle frame (12-8), but failed to connect on any of their quality chances. A couple players who really stood out in the 2nd were Dylan Samberg (a bunch of quality defensive plays) and Cole Perfetti (great backcheck to break up a play and then wrang a wrister from the slot off the goalie’s mask).

With the game that much tighter, Winnipeg got a big break on the opening shift of the 3rd period when Nino Niederreiter poked the puck towards the net on a Jets’ dump in….only for it to bounce off a defenseman’s skate and into the net to give the visitors a 4-2 lead. Connor Hellebuyck made a couple high danger saves as Detroit pushed to get back into the game, but eventually the refs started to call infractions against the home squad. As a result, the Jets received a couple powerplays and were able to add to their lead when Alex Iafallo hit Pionk with a pass near the blueline, allowing the defender to step in just a bit before firing a wrister by the Wings’ tender. Winnipeg came very close to going 2 for 2 on the PP last night, as they scored their final goal just 4 seconds after the second man-advantage when Colin Miller wristed another long shot by Lyon.

FINAL SCORE: Winnipeg 6 Detroit 2

FINAL STATS

Shots: 29-21 WPG / Hits: 31-10 DET / Face-Offs: 61.1% WPG / x Goals: 2.89 WPG – 1.63 DET /

MoneyPuck’s Deserve to Win: 70.7% WPG / High Danger Scoring Chances: 13 to 5 WPG

SCORING SUMMARY from ESPN

SHOT CHARTS from MoneyPuck & Natural Stat Trick

ADVANCED STATS from MoneyPuck & NaturalStatTrick

ADVANCED STATS for Line Combos/Goalie from MoneyPuck & NaturalStatTrick

If you would like to dive deeper into the game’s stats, follow the links below to the game pages:

MoneyPuck: Winnipeg Jets vs. Detroit Red Wings – Wednesday October 30 2024 – MoneyPuck.com

NaturalStatTrick: Winnipeg Jets @ Detroit Red Wings, 2024-10-30

BOJA’s Observations:

  • Oh what a start to the year for Kyle Connor!! The American sniper now has 9 goals in 10 games, while amassing a whopping 17 points after his 3 pt night in Detroit.
  • I thought Cole Perfetti had an excellent game and was pretty unlucky to walk away without a point. Some very smart defensive plays, combined with a few high danger scoring attempts for young Cole.
  • The Winnipeg Jets’ powerplay continues to roll along…going 1 for 2 last night as they continue to flirt with a 50% success rate on the season. The penalty killers weren’t as successful, allowing goals against on 2 of 3 attempts. The Jets are also the NHL’s Road Warriors, as they are the only franchise to not lose a game away from their home arena.
  • Since it is Halloween today, I thought I would make a costume suggestion for some of the Winnipeg Jets’ players. Because #55 spent so much time floating while his wingers were getting down to work, I think the top line of Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, & Gabriel Vilardi could consider going as the singer Meat Loaf doing a rendition of “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad“. Since the defensive duo of Dylan Samberg & Neal Pionk’s play over the past two contests has varied hugely (from -5 to +2), the classic Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde costume might be the way to go.

Alright, that is all I have time for this morning…..the Jets will be moving onto Columbus now and that team has been playing very well lately (1 goal against in past two contests). Have a happy Halloween everyone….don’t eat too much candy!!

UP NEXT: Winnipeg Jets (9-1-0) @ Columbus Blue Jackets (5-3-1) – Friday, November 1st @ 6:00 pm CST

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