RECAP: Detroit again shows pushback but drops 3-2 decision to Winnipeg

DETROIT -- Playing the first of 12 matinees in their 2026-27 regular-season schedule, the Detroit Red Wings battled but couldn’t quite finish off a three-goal comeback in a 3-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets at Little Caesars Arena on Sunday afternoon.

“The guys on the bench are pissed when we’re down,” Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan said. “They’re not happy, but no one is digging graves. They’re trying to dig themselves out. I didn’t think the effort, or anything, sagged. In fact, we pushed a little bit. You could feel the building get some energy, and that certainly helped us. We’re appreciative for that.”

Goaltender John Gibson finished with 24 saves for Detroit (0-2-0; 0 points), while goalie Stuart Skinner had 33 for Winnipeg (1-0-1; 3 points). Special teams played a significant part in Sunday’s result, as the Red Wings went 1-for-5 on the power play and 1-for-4 on the penalty kill.

“That’s where they won that battle today,” Alex DeBrincat said. “Like I said, power play must be better. We had a lot of opportunities to put one in the net. We obviously got one, but one isn’t enough in a game like that.”

Before the Red Wings saw the Jets take a 2-0 lead in the opening frame on power-play goals from Cole Perfetti at 13:04 and Kyle Connor at 14:36, J.T. Compher was on the receiving end of a hit from Tyrel Bauer that sent him backwards into the left boards at 12:10. Keegan Kolesar immediately stepped up in defense of Compher by dropping the gloves with Bauer and absorbing a few blows before briefly leaving the game, but he returned to start the second.

The early goings of the middle frame also saw Gibson make an impressive stop on Vladislav Namestnikov's breakaway attempt — the 33-year-old forward accepted a pass and raced down the ice out of the penalty box just seconds after Detroit's second power play of the afternoon expired.

At 5:41, Josh Morrissey set up Connor for another Winnipeg power-play goal that staked the visitors to a 3-0 advantage.

“The penalty kill failed us,” McLellan said. “And the penalty, unsportsmanlike conduct right after we get scored on, bang, they’re up 2-0. We can’t have that. Pretty simple, but the penalty kill let us down. First one was a lucky one. Second one was a penalty that we didn’t need to take. Third one was off a rebound. So, we’ll keep working on that, try to fix it.”

The Red Wings got on the board before the second intermission arrived, however. With Dylan DeMelo in the box for tripping Kolesar, Viktor Arvidsson was at the back door when he redirected a cross-ice feed from Andrew Copp behind Skinner and cut their deficit to 3-1 at 16:52. Moritz Seider picked up the secondary assist on Arvidsson's first goal of the season, which was also Detroit's first as a team.

Less than five minutes into the third period, Emmitt Finnie firmly planted himself in front of the crease between DeMelo and an out-of-position Skinner and tapped home a centering pass from Michael Brandsegg-Nygård to bring it to 3-2 at 4:56. DeBrincat also assisted on Finnie’s first goal of the campaign.

“We worked yesterday in practice, it was an offensive practice, really,” McLellan said. “We’ve spent a lot of time trying to defend, but we focused on offense yesterday and worked on stuff in and around the blue paint, just like Emmitt’s goal. We also worked on attack points, our D getting shots through a little bit more, and I think we saw some of the fruits of our labor show up in here. We still got to find a way to get more than two a night.”

Gibson was pulled late in the game for the extra attacker, with the Red Wings hoping to force overtime. Despite applying pressure deep in the Jets' offensive zone during that stretch, they couldn’t put a third one past Skinner before the final horn sounded. 

“Even at the end, we had the puck on (Lucas Raymond’s) stick," McLellan said. "It just wouldn’t go in.”

NEXT UP: Detroit will entertain the Ottawa Senators for an Atlantic Division matchup at Little Caesars Arena on Tuesday night.

POSTGAME QUOTES

McLellan on Detroit’s first two contests this season

“We’ve gone six periods now. We haven’t given up a 5-on-5 goal. We’ve given up some chances. Gibby’s had to make some saves, but that’s positive. We can clean up the penalty kill part, get the power play going and look to score more.”

McLellan on Brandsegg-Nygård’s play

“Fantastic. Tonight I thought was his best game as a Red Wing. He’s a bully, which is great. He isn’t afraid to shoot it. He sticks his nose in. Really looks like he’s enjoying playing the game.”

DeBrincat on Sunday’s matinee

“We got to be better on special teams. Power plays got to get more momentum and more opportunities. Not being too crisp with the power play, but I feel like our 5-on-5 game, our defense, was pretty good. We still got to generate some more offense too. I thought we did a better job today than we did (on Friday night), but I think we’re not bearing down in front. A couple of missed opportunities and we got to put a couple more to the back of the net.”

DeBrincat on playing with Finnie and Brandsegg-Nygård

“(Finnie) has got a lot of speed and (Brandsegg-Nygård) is strong on his stick. Playing with those two, we got to go in on the entry with a lot of speed. They’re both going to battle and get it back. I think we can do a lot better in the neutral zone and controlling the puck. I think we still got to be more crisp there, but playing with those two creates a lot just by pushing the D back because they’re so fast.”

Brandsegg-Nygård on capitalizing on more offensive opportunities

“Practice, I guess. I think we want the right thing and we’re playing a good game. It’s just trying to connect more and the chances we have, just try to put it into the back of the net.”