Jets 4, Red Wings 1
WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Defenseman Jacob Trouba doubled his season output with a pair of goals and center Bryan Little added three assists to power the Winnipeg Jets to a 4-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday at the MTS Centre.
Trouba netted his third and fourth goals, while Jets left winger Andrew Ladd supplied his 10th on the power play and right winger Alexander Burmistrov chipped in his third for Winnipeg (17-17-2). Right wingers Drew Stafford and Blake Wheeler each had two assists.
Jets rookie goaltender Connor Hellebuyck made 33 saves for his seventh win in 10 games since being called up Nov. 22 from the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League after Jets No.1 goalie Ondrej Pavelec injured his knee.
Hellebuyck, coming off a 1-0 shutout of the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday, was stingy again, allowing only a power play marker by Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk, his fourth tally of the year, at 1:52 of the third period. Later in the period, he stopped the still-shifty 37-year-old forward on a clear-cut breakaway to preserve a three-goal cushion.
Starting goalie Jimmy Howard struggled for Detroit (18-12-7), giving up every Jets goal on 14 shots before being replaced by Petr Mrazek midway through the second period. The duo combined for 21 saves.
Winnipeg ran its home record to 11-5-1, including six of seven in December.
Detroit's power play had a tough night, scoring once on six chances, while the Jets made good on one of two opportunities with the man advantage.
Special teams sparked the Jets to a 2-0 lead after a penalty-filled opening 20 minutes.
Trouba started things with a shorthanded tally at 4:27, finishing off a three-on-two break with a hard wrist shot that beat Howard high to the glove side. Winnipeg center Adam Lowry was in the penalty box at the time, serving four minutes for clipping left winger Henrik Zetterberg with a high stick.
Winnipeg's power play unit clicked at 10:29 when Ladd, parked in the low slot, took a pass from Wheeler and let a wrist shot go that Howard couldn't handle.
Hellebuyck was tested a dozen times in the first period and stopped every shot, including several from in tight as the Red Wings attacked on three power play opportunities.
Twenty-three games after his last goal, Burmistrov finally got another one 4:13 into the second period when he raced down the boards, cut in and fired a wrist shot that beat Howard high to the blocker side to give the hosts a 3-0 lead.
Trouba unleashed a bomb from just inside the blue line that found the back of the net at 11:43 for his second goal of the game and Winnipeg's fourth on 14 shots. Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill gave Howard the rest of the night off, replacing him with Mrazek.
Hellebuyck, meanwhile, was rock solid in the second period, kicking out his right leg to stop Darren Helm on a breakaway and keeping his outstretched pad firmly on the ice to block the Wings center from whacking in his own rebound.
NOTES: Jets D Adam Pardy, D Paul Postma and RW Anthony Peluso were healthy scratches. ... Detroit C Luke Glendening returned to the lineup after missing Monday's game in Minnesota due to illness. D Jonathan Ericsson (upper body) missed the game. A recent Wings call-up, LW Eric Tangradi, who played for the Jets for two seasons (2012-14), didn't dress. ... C Bryan Little made a bit of history Sunday night, scoring Winnipeg's first penalty-shot goal since the club relocated from Atlanta in 2011. It also marked just the fourth time in league history a goal on a penalty shot earned a 1-0 victory. ... Red Wings C Darren Helm hails from St. Andrews, a small community just 10 minutes north of Winnipeg. ... The Jets play the Coyotes on Thursday in Arizona. ... The Red Wings head home to play the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday.