Connor’s goal, 2 assists help Jets rebound, defeat Red Wings

DETROIT -- Kyle Connor had a goal and two assists, including his 500th NHL point, and the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Detroit Red Wings 6-2 at Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday.

Playing against his hometown team, the native of Shelby Township, Michigan, moved to 502 points (252 goals, 250 assists) in 541 NHL games.

“We’ve been hoping to keep Kyle as our little secret up here, but 500 points might be tough to hide,” Jets coach Scott Arniel said. “He’s off to a great start this year and he’s an elite player in this league.”

Connor has 17 points (nine goals, eight assists) in a 10-game point streak, extending the longest season-opening run in franchise history.

“Kyle is a fantastic player. I’m very, very lucky to play with him,” Jets forward Mark Scheifele said. “He brings it night in and night out and tonight he was absolutely phenomenal.”

Neal Pionk scored twice, Gabriel Vilardi had a goal and an assist, and Connor Hellebuyck made 19 saves to help Winnipeg (9-1-0) bounce back from a 6-4 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday.

“That game was a combination of [Toronto] playing really well and us playing very poorly,” Pionk said. “But the sun came up and part of being a pro is turning the page after a bad game.”

Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond each had two assists for Detroit (4-5-1), which lost its third in a row. Alex Lyon made 23 saves.

“We can’t have games like that,” Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin said. “Most of our forwards were passengers tonight. We gave them the puck too many times and we let them do what they wanted in the O-zone.”

Vilardi gave the Jets a 1-0 lead at 2:48 of the first period, scoring on a one-timer off a saucer pass from Connor, who reached his milestone with the assist.

Pionk made it 2-0 at 4:02 by knocking in a rebound in the slot.

Connor then increased the lead to 3-0 at 15:44, getting behind the Red Wings defense and putting a backhand around Lyon’s left skate on a give-and-go with Vilardi. It was his ninth goal of the season.

“The three first-period goals were 1-on-1 battles where we got beat to the net,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said. “Two rushes where we identified the right guy and he outmuscled our guy and then a face-off goal.”

Larkin cut it to 3-1 on the man-advantage at 8:13 of the second period, and Alex DeBrincat pulled the Red Wings within 3-2 with a power-play goal of his own at 17:40, scoring on a tip of Raymond’s shot.

The Jets pushed the lead to 4-2 at 10 seconds of the third period. Nino Niederreiter flipped the puck toward the front of the net, where it bounced off Lyon’s stick and went in off the skate of Red Wings defenseman Ben Chiarot in the crease.

Pionk scored his second of the game on the power play to make it 5-2 at 7:19 before Colin Miller scored at 10:25 for the 6-2 final. He beat Lyon from the top of the slot with a wrist shot high to the glove side.

“We definitely weren’t sharp enough as we need to be to win games against an elite team,” Red Wings forward J.T. Compher said.

NOTES: Detroit forward Vladimir Tarasenko missed the game with an illness. Austin Watson was recalled from Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League to take his spot, finishing minus-1 with one shot on goal in 9:06 of ice time. … With its fifth straight road win, Winnipeg extended the franchise record to open a season. … The Jets outscored the Red Wings 5-0 at even strength.