If you’ve been in the camp that believes the Winnipeg Jets lack a true game-breaker at forward, Kyle Connor would like a word.
Wednesday night — where Winnipeg defeated the Detroit Red Wings 6-2 — was yet another example of Connor’s brilliance. His three-point performance not only helped him eclipse 500 career points, but more importantly, reaffirmed what many on the prairies had noticed since the regular season began.
Connor has hit another gear this season.
His saucer pass assist to Gabriel Vilardi for the game’s first goal was executed with perfect precision. His second point of the night — a secondary assist — came via a well-placed low-shot to create a rebound, which Neal Pionk capitalized on. And his third point of the night? Well, it was just vintage ‘KC’ — a give-and-go with Vilardi that saw him receive a pass above the blue-paint, at full speed, and swiftly deke to his backhand to score on Alex Lyon.
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“He’s got that scoring touch that not many guys in this league have,” Jets forward Mason Appleton told reporters Wednesday morning. “It seems like almost every other night he scores a goal where you’re like ‘wow….’ You almost get used to it but it’s like ‘wow…that’s an unbelievable goal.”’
The six-time 30-plus goal scorer is currently tied for the second-most goals (nine) and tied for the most game-winning goals (three) in the NHL. For those that have kept tabs on Connor, that shouldn’t be all-that-surprising. Since the 2019-20 season, only Auston Matthews, David Pastrnak and Connor McDavid have scored more even strength goals than Connor (137) — which, to the typical hockey fan, may come as a surprise.
“He’s an elite player in this league,” Jets coach Scott Arniel told reporters post-game. “We like to keep him as our little hidden secret but I don’t think that’s going to happen anymore.”
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Especially given how dangerous Connor has been in areas other than goal scoring this season.
This season, the 27-year-old has found a way to leverage his natural gifts in the ‘unsexy’ areas of the game. He’s weaponizing his quick stick work to not only quickly release wrist shots or deke opponents, but to also intercept pucks and defend players along the wall. He’s using his legs to not only push the play up the ice but also retreat and play a full 200-foot game. It’s something he’s always had within him. And that’s why Arniel has had Connor killing penalties for the Jets since day one of training camp.
“The thing I like most about KC — we know the goal scoring, the shot, all the stuff — but it’s his ability to get the puck back,” Arniel told reporters Wednesday morning. “The way he tracks. The way he takes a lot of pride playing without [the puck]. That leads to offence. It allows them to play with [the puck] a little bit more. He’s a guy that, when he doesn’t have it, he goes and gets it.”
As much as Connor’s first period point totals on Wednesday were eye-catching, his play away from the puck all night long was something Arniel didn’t want to gloss over.
“I just love the fact there were a couple of times in the third period where we were up three goals or whatever it was and he was still pouring back on the back-check and he was still trying to pop sticks,” Arniel said.
While Connor was always a near-lock to represent Team USA at the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off, the all-around game he’s displayed will undoubtedly bode well for him becoming a driver — not just a passenger — in that tournament.
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Other Takeaways:
• The first line rebounded big time. After a dreadful showing against the Toronto Maple Leafs — which came on the heels of a season-long trend of being outscored and out-chanced during five-on-five play — the trio of Connor, Vilardi and Mark Scheifele was downright dominant against the Red Wings. Not only did they combine for three goals in the first period but they also out-chanced the opposition 10-3 at five-on-five. For the first time all year, it felt like things were clicking for them throughout an entire game. They were sustaining prolonged periods of offensive zone pressure, generating Grade-A chances and, most importantly, not getting suffocated in the neutral zone.
“That line looks fast, they’re cohesive and they’re doing things together,” Arniel said. “When you have chemistry like that, they’re going to create the offence.”
• Speaking of that first line, it’s safe to say we can put Vilardi’s six-game goal drought to start the year in the rear view mirror. With a goal tonight, Vilardi has three goals (and five points) in his last four games.
• You can add Dylan Samberg and Pionk to the list of players that bounced back in a big way from Monday’s 6-4 loss to the Maple Leafs, where that pairing was on the ice for five goals against during five-on-five play.
“I’ll quote [Rick Bowness] — [expletive] happens,” Pionk told reporters post-game. “It was a combination of [Toronto] playing really well and us playing very poorly. That just happens. Over the course of 82 games, that’s going to happen. Like I said, you’ve got to respond.
And that duo sure did, with Winnipeg out-chancing Detroit 11-2 during five-on-five play when those two were out there. Pionk scored two goals — the first being an aggressive pinch to the slot and the second coming on the power play — which gave him 12 points on the year (tying him with Alex Pietrangelo for the second-most points among defenceman). Samberg had a few hallmark defensive stoppages, including some textbook defending on a two-on-one in the second period where he sprawled out and nullified a cross-ice chance.
