Jets Defeat Penguins 4-1 in Complete Team Effort – The Hockey Writers Winnipeg Jets Latest News, Analysis & More

The Winnipeg Jets defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1 at PPG Paints Arena Friday night in a strong team effort. The league-best Jets had four different goal scorers in the victory and improved their record to 17-3-0; the Penguins fell to 7-11-4.

Jets Get Off To Fast Start, Cruise to Victory

Nino Niederreiter opened the scoring just 82 seconds in, sliding a puck past Tristan Jarry from in tight. Niederreiter received the puck after Mason Appleton’s strong forecheck forced Evgeni Malkin to turn it over.

The Jets scored twice in the second to stretch their lead to three. First, Vladislav Namestnikov gave himself a gift of a goal on his 32nd birthday, jamming his own rebound in to convert a four-on-two rush at 4:53. Then, in the final minute with Malkin in the box for slew-footing Gabriel Vilardi, Vilardi laughed last and best by blasting in a one-timer from the high slot.

PPG at PPG pic.twitter.com/G6lgk6MRgP

— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) November 23, 2024

Early in the third, two unusual combatants in Sidney Crosby and 2022 Lady Byng Trophy winner Kyle Connor dropped the gloves in for a brief fight. Crosby — who seemed frustrated with his team’s lacklustre effort to that point — ended up with an extra penalty for cross checking, but the Penguins killed off the minor. It was Connor’s first fighting major of his nine-year career.

Related: Winnipeg Jets Notebook: Top Line Success, Split With Panthers, and Tough Trip Ahead

The Penguins cut the Jets’ lead to 3-1 with a power-play goal of their own at 5:49, when Michael Bunting put home a nice cross-crease pass from Bryan Rust.

That’s as close as the Penguins would come, though, as Connor salted the game away with an empty netter with 1:11 remaining to retake the team lead in goals with 13 and complete an unlikely Gordie Howe hat trick.

Notes and Observations

Crosby entered the contest with 599-career goals, but will have to wait another game to reach another milestone in his storied career.

Josh Morrissey recorded his 20th point of the season by drawing the secondary assist on Vilardi’s goal. He and the Colorado Avalanche’s Cale Makar are the only defensemen with 20-plus points this season.

Connor Hellebuyck, recently voted the favourite at the quarter mark for the 2025 Vezina Trophy, made 17 saves for his 14th win of the season and had an easy night overall. Jarry made 26 saves on 29 shots.

The Jets and Penguins both went one for three on the man advantage.

The Jets are a perfect 10-0-0 this season when scoring first.

The attendance was 15,232, well below PPG’s 18,187 capacity for hockey.

The Jets will be right back in action tomorrow as they head to Nashville to face the Predators in the second half of a back-to-back and second game of their season-long six-game road trip. The Penguins also play again tomorrow as they host the Utah Hockey Club in the fourth game of a five-game home stand.