The Winnipeg Jets were in Detroit last night for their fourth road game in a row against a Red Wings team who have been tough to beat on home ice.
Winnipeg was looking to bounce back after their last game as they lost by a whopping 7-1 scoreline to the Colorado Avalanche in Denver.
The Jets were also missing some key figures to their lineup as Nikolaj Ehlers, Paul Stastny, Brenden Dillon, Logan Stanley, Ville Heinola, Nathan Beaulieu, Kristian Reichel, and Blake Wheeler all missed the game. All the players besides Wheeler were added to the COVID-19 protocol, while Wheeler is still out with a lower-body injury.
With all of these lineup omissions, both Dylan Samberg and Declan Chisholm made their NHL debuts in this game and it went well for the pair of debutants.
The Winnipeg Jets played well en route to beating the Detroit Red Wings 3-0
Andrew Copp give the Jets a 1-0 lead just over five minutes into regulation on an outstanding sharp-angle shot from behind the goal line that deflected off of the back of the Red Wings’ goaltender’s head and into the back of the net.
Also, Dylan Samberg registered the secondary assist on Copp’s first goal, which is the twenty-two-year-old defenseman’s first NHL point.
Copp then extended the Jets lead to 2-0 with less than nine minutes remaining in the second period.
The Jets were in the dying moments of a penalty kill and Nate Schmidt was able to retrieve the puck behind Hellebuyck’s net.
Schmidt then fired a pass to Kyle Connor, who was on the sidewall by the defensive zone hash marks. Copp then fired to the middle of the ice and created a mini-break away for himself since Detroit had four players deep in their offensive zone.
Connor then delivered a great pass to spring Copp on the rush. Copp then took a terrific wrist shot in stride over the goaltender’s blocker side and into the back of the net.
Connor then added a shorthanded empty-net goal in the dying stages of the third period to give the Jets a 3-0 lead and the Jets held onto that lead for the remainder of the game.
3 Winners
Andrew Copp: 2 goals, a plus-two plus/minus, and led all Jets’ forwards in time on ice
Dylan Samberg: Scored his first point in his NHL Debut and played 17:52 in the contest including 3:51 on the penalty kill
Connor Hellebuyck: Bounced back after allowing seven goals last game and stopped all 33 shots he faced for the shutout victory
The Winnipeg Jets are currently 3-1-0 on this road trip to start 2022. Originally the Jets were supposed to play back-to-back home games this weekend against the Senators and Oilers, but both of those games have been canceled.
The next time the Jets will be back in action will be on Tuesday night for a matchup against the Washington Capitals.