Gabe Vilardi has goal and 2 assists, Jets beat Red Wings 5-2

Updated: Dec 21, 2023, 12:03 am

WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- — Gabe Vilardi had a goal and two assists, Laurent Brossoit made 26 saves and the Winnipeg Jets beat the Detroit Red Wings 5-2 on Wednesday night to take sole possession of the Central Division lead.

Vilardi has has five goals and five assists in his last four games. He missed six weeks because of a knee injury, returning to the lineup Nov. 30.

“Unbelievable, smart player,” linemate Nikolaj Ehlers said. “To be able to come back after an injury like he had that early in the season and play the way he’s playing right now is — you know, I’ve been through it — it’s hard.”

Ehlers and Axel Jonnson-Fjallby each had a goal and an assist and Mark Scheifele and Neal Pionk also scored to help Winnipeg improve to 9-9-3.

Brossoit made his eighth start of the season, with Connor Hellebuyck getting the majority of the work in goal.

“LB, the games that he’s played, he’s been unbelievable,” Ehlers said. “Having two goalies that play the way they do every single night is pretty exciting, and it makes our job a little easier. The saves that he made are pretty impressive.”

Patrick Kane and Olli Maatta scored for Detroit, and James Reimer stopped 36 shots. The Red Wings have lost four in a row to fall to 15-13-4.

“It’s spiraling right now,” Detroit defenseman Dylan Larkin said. “It’s a lot of hockey, but we don’t make excuses. We had to come in here and find a way, and we didn’t. We found the opposite way.”

Scheifele put it away with 4:48 left with Winnipeg’s fifth goal, converting a setup from Vilardi.

Detroit pulled to 4-2 at 8:41 of the third. Kane converted the rebound of a shot from Larkin from the side of the net.

“If you look at the goals they scored today, they really didn’t have to work very hard for them,” Detroit defenseman Moritz Seider said. “We were just kind of giving Grade-A chances to them and obviously that will hurt you.”

UP NEXT

Red Wings: Host Philadelphia on Friday night.

Jets: Host Boston on Friday night.

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