The Winnipeg Jets’ home-opener had everything — big moments, wild momentum swings, and a late-game push that almost became legendary. What it didn’t have, however, was the ending Winnipeg wanted. Despite a hat trick from Kyle Connor, the Jets fell 5-4 to the Dallas Stars on Thursday night at Canada Life Centre. Winnipeg clawed back from a 5-1 deficit, scoring three times in the final 10 minutes, but ran out of time in a chaotic, entertaining finish.
Here are three takeaways from a night that showed plenty of positives — and a few lingering issues — for a Jets team still finding its early-season footing.
Kyle Connor’s Hat Trick Sets the Tone for His Season
If anyone wondered how Connor would follow up his new contract, the answer came quickly. Less than 24 hours after signing an eight-year, $96 million extension, the winger delivered his fifth career hat trick and nearly dragged his team to a comeback win on sheer will.
Connor tied the game 1-1 in the first period, collecting Mark Scheifele’s cross-slot feed and tucking it under Jake Oettinger’s glove. His second came short-handed midway through the third, when he burst past the defence on a partial break, buried his own rebound, and cut the deficit to 5-3. The hat-trick goal, scored with 3:03 remaining, sent the building into full roar.
Winnipeg Jets forward Kyle Connor is congratulated by his teammates (Terrence Lee-Imagn Images)
Connor’s line with Scheifele and Gabriel Vilardi was Winnipeg’s engine. Scheifele finished with three assists, continuing his trend of play-driving maturity, and Vilardi created several scoring chances despite not hitting the scoresheet.
The downside? Winnipeg’s attack still runs almost entirely through its top trio. Outside of Connor, the Jets’ forwards combined for just one goal — a short-handed tally from Morgan Barron. It’s early, but establishing more depth production will be crucial if the Jets want to sustain success across a long season. Connor’s heroics were a reminder of what he can do; the rest of the roster needs to start matching that level of urgency.
Jets’ Defensive Structure Faltered in Crucial Moments
Head coach Scott Arniel’s first game of his second season behind the bench showcased both the promise and the pitfalls of Winnipeg’s structure. The Jets looked organized at times, breaking out cleanly and generating transition chances, but extended lapses in the defensive zone proved costly.
Stars forward Mikko Rantanen opened the scoring at 3:15 when a rebound off a Roope Hintz shot bounced off Connor Hellebuyck’s mask and landed on Rantanen’s stick. Later in the first, Nils Lundkvist restored Dallas’ lead (2-1) with a quick snap shot from the high slot that went through a screen.
Things unravelled early in the third. Dallas scored three goals in just over two minutes — Jason Robertson on the power play, Tyler Seguin seconds later, and Wyatt Johnston soon after — to blow the game open at 5-1. Winnipeg’s defensive coverage evaporated, and puck-watching led to easy looks in prime scoring areas.
To their credit, the Jets didn’t fold. The penalty kill, which had struggled all night, flipped the script with Barron and Connor scoring back-to-back short-handed goals. The pushback was impressive, but Arniel acknowledged post-game that “there’s good energy in that room, but we’ve got to clean up our defensive structure early on.”
It’s a small sample size, but the defensive pairings of Neal Pionk–Dylan Samberg and Nate Schmidt–Brenden Dillon had tough outings. Breakdowns in communication and weak box-outs around the crease gave the Stars the openings they needed.
The Jets were the stingiest team in the NHL last season, ranking first in goals-against per game (2.35). Re-establishing that defensive identity under Arniel’s watch will be critical — especially in a Central Division packed with offensive depth.
Special Teams Delivered Chaos and Character
Few aspects of Thursday’s game were more eventful than the special-teams battle. It produced momentum swings, scoring bursts, and frustration in equal measure. The Jets’ penalty kill had a rough start, giving up two power-play goals. Robertson’s goal at 1:01 of the third was a dagger — a perfect example of Dallas’ crisp puck movement and Winnipeg’s passive coverage. The Stars exploited gaps in the box formation and forced Hellebuyck to move laterally far too often.
Then, in one of the wildest sequences of the night, the penalty kill turned into Winnipeg’s best offence. While down two men, Barron stripped a puck in his own zone, raced the length of the ice, and scored on a shorthanded breakaway to make it 5-2. Just 76 seconds later, Connor struck again, also short-handed, firing home his rebound to pull the Jets within two.
Those goals reignited the bench and reminded everyone that this is still one of the NHL’s fastest transition teams. The power play, meanwhile, looked composed but couldn’t capitalize when it mattered most. Winnipeg finished 0-for-3 with the man advantage, struggling to find seams through Dallas’ aggressive penalty kill.
“Certainly you have to give Dallas credit, but for 50 minutes we were not a very good hockey team,” Arniel told reporters. “Our structure and detail in all three areas wasn’t very good. They’re too good of a hockey team to make those kind of mistakes.”
The takeaway? Winnipeg’s special teams can be a weapon, but consistency is key. It’s early, but the unit needs sharper reads and more poise to avoid the kind of swings that nearly doomed them Thursday.
Jets Still Need Work
It’s never easy to open a season with a loss, especially one where your star player does everything in his power to steal it back. But there’s perspective to be found here. The Jets showed resilience, scoring three unanswered in the third and nearly pulling off a comeback against a proven Dallas team. Connor looked unstoppable, Scheifele controlled the pace, and Hellebuyck kept the game within reach despite limited defensive help.
Still, the same concerns linger from last spring — defensive lapses at key moments, overreliance on the top line, and special-teams inconsistency. Arniel and his staff will have plenty of film to dissect before the Jets host the LA Kings on Saturday afternoon.
If Winnipeg can clean up its defensive structure, spread out the scoring, and find stability in its special teams, they will be in good shape. Game one showed flashes of what this team can become — but also exactly what still needs work.
