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The Winnipeg Jets played game number 20 of their 2024-25 NHL season tonight. Entering this game, the Jets were 16-3-0, sitting at the top of the NHL standings. This game marked the beginning of a 6 game road trip for the Jets, who won’t play again at home until December 3rd. The Pittsburgh Penguins sat at 7-10-4 before this game. Sidney Crosby sits at 599 career goals, but aside from some milestones, the Penguins haven’t had much to cheer about so far this season.
1st Period
It was one of those games where the Jets came out firing shots on goal right out of the gate. Shots on goal were 6-0 for the Jets 5 minutes into this game. One of those shots, 1:22 into this game, was sent into the net to give the Jets a 1-0 lead. After the puck was sent around the boards behind the Penguins net, a costly turnover led to the puck finding Nino Niederreiter alone in front of the net. After a little deke to the backhand, Niederreiter put the puck past Tristian Jarry, scoring his 8th of the season, giving the Jets an early 1-0 lead.
After the Jets took the lead, they continued to play with good pace, generating some chances and looking like the team in control of this game. Halfway into the 1st, Vladislav Namestnikov took a slashing minor against Anthony Beauvillier, giving the Penguins their 1st powerplay of the night. Only 1 shot was generated on the Penguins powerplay despite some good control in the Jets zone, and the shots sat at 9-5 for the Jets with 5 minutes to play in the 1st.
Rasmus Kupari would help earn the Jets their 1st powerplay with 3 minutes to play in the 1st. Jesse Puljujarvi got a holding call as Kupari used his speed to try to get up the ice, and it was now the Jets turn to have the man advantage. Similar to the Penguins powerplay, the Jets managed just 1 shot on the powerplay while staying a good amount of time in the Penguins end. The Jets led after the 1st period 1-0, with the shots on goal 12-8 for the Jets.
2nd Period
The first 4 minutes of the 2nd were pretty tame, with the Jets getting 2 shots on goal while the Penguins got none. Vladislav Namestnikov made it 2-0 for the Jets just before the 5 minute mark in the 2nd. Nikolaj Ehlers brought the puck up the ice and into the Penguins zone, and dropped it back to Namestnikov. Vladdy sent a shot on goal, and followed it up by getting his own rebound on the backhand past Jarry. Namestnikov’s 6th goal of the season came on his 32nd birthday, and the Jets were back to controlling the play in this game.
The rest of the 2nd period was pretty uneventful, but it was still some good quality hockey. Connor Hellebuyck made a few nice saves, and the teams traded chances. The pace of the game was pretty quick, and you could tell that both teams were pushing to get the next goal.
Evgeni Malkin took a tripping penalty with 1:15 left in the 2nd period. The Jets went to work on their 2nd powerplay of the game, and they quickly made it 3-0. 17 seconds into the powerplay, #13 Gabe Vilardi scored his 8th of the season, assisted by Kyle Connor and Josh Morrissey. It was a nice give and go play between Morrissey and Connor, and the puck found it’s way to Vilardi who was alone in the slot, and he wristed one past Jarry to give the Jets that important next goal.
The Jets went into the 2nd intermission with a 3-0 lead. Shots on goal were 25-13 for the Jets at this point. One stat to note at this point was the hits, which were 17-7 in favour of the Penguins. A lack of physicality wasn’t a problem for the Jets, as they relied on their speed and skill up until this point in the game.
3rd Period
The 3rd started off with some sparks, after Sidney Crosby took a cross-checking penalty just 38 seconds after the 3rd period puck drop. Kyle Connor stepped up and challenged Crosby to a fight. The fight didn’t last too long, and both players were assessed with a 5 minute major for the tilt. An unsuccessful 3rd powerplay followed for the Jets.
Alex Iafallo took a tripping penalty against Ryan Shea a few minutes later, sending the Penguins on their 2nd powerplay of the game. With 40 seconds left in the powerplay, the Penguins stopped Hellebuyck’s chance at his 4th shutout of the season. The puck was dug out of a scramble by Evgeni Malkin, who found Bryan Rust, who set up Michael Bunting who was open in front. Bunting’s 4th goal of the season cut the Jets lead to 3-1, and the Penguins looked to build off that goal.
Halfway through the 3rd period, Perfetti took an interference penalty against Noel Acciari. The Penguins went to the powerplay for the 3rd time in this game. Shots on goal were 29-16 for the Jets at this point, but the Penguins felt that they still had a chance in this game with this opportunity.
The Jets held strong on this powerplay, despite some good pressure from the Penguins. The 3-1 lead continued to hold up, and the Jets continued to lead in shots 30-19 with 4 minutes left. The Penguins pulled the goalie with a little over 2 minutes remaining. A good anticipation play by Scheifele led the Jets with numbers up the ice with the empty net. Scheifele gave it Perfetti, who handed it off to Kyle Connor who easily wrapped up this game up with his 13th of the season into the empty net.
The final minute played out without much action, and the Jets became the 6th team in NHL history to win 17 of their first 20 games to start an NHL season. Final score 4-1 Jets, and final shots on goal 30-18 in favour of the Jets. It was an overall good team effort for the Jets tonight, who didn’t take the struggling Penguins lightly. Kyle Connor led the way with 2 points, a goal and an assist.
Up next for the Jets is a game against another struggling team, the Nashville Predators. That game goes tomorrow night at 6 pm CT, so it’s a quick travel and turn around for the Jets. Eric Comrie will likely be in goal, and the Jets will look to improve to 18-3-0 on the season at the quarter season mark.