Winnipeg winger Kyle Connor roughs up Penguins in 4-1 win for visiting Jets

With a goal and an assist, Kyle Connor became the third player in Winnipeg Jets history to record at least 25 points through 20 games in a season, as the Jets beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1 on Friday night.

Vilardi, Niederreiter and Namestnikov also score for 17-3 Jets

Dan Scifo · The Associated Press · Posted: Nov 22, 2024 11:44 PM EST | Last Updated: November 23

Two hockey players grapple aggressively. — A gloveless Kyle Connor, left, tussles with Penguins captain Sidney Crosby during the third period of Friday night's 4-1 win by the visiting Winnipeg Jets in Pittsburgh, Penn. (Gene J. Puskar/The Associated Press)

Kyle Connor had a goal and an assist and the Winnipeg Jets beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1 on Friday night.

Connor became the third player in Jets history to record at least 25 points through 20 games in a season. Gabriel Vilardi scored a power-play goal, while Nino Niederreiter and Vladislav Namestnikov also scored for the Jets, who built a 3-0 lead through two periods.

Winnipeg equaled the second-most wins (17) by any franchise through the first 20 games of a season. The Jets are 10-0 when scoring first.

Connor Hellebuyck, who stopped 17 shots, has a league-best 14 wins in 16 games. The reigning Vezina Trophy winner also ranks among the NHL leaders in goals-against average and save percentage.

Michael Bunting scored a power-play goal in the third period for Pittsburgh. Tristan Jarry made 26 saves.

In addition to his scoring, Connor also made an impact with his fists, squaring off with Penguins captain Sydney Crosby early in the third period. The five-minute fighting major assessed to Connor gave the former Lady Byng winner a rare "Gordie Howe hat-trick" — the unofficial name for the accomplishment of having a goal, an assist and a fight in the same game.

A goalie in white reaches with his stick toward the puck to the right of his net, while other players skate nearby. — Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck clears the puck during the third period Friday night. The reigning Vezina winner stopped 17 shots to win for the 14th time in 16 starts this season. (Gene J. Puskar/The Associated Press)

Takeaways

Jets: The Jets have won 17 of 20 games to start the season. They won 15 of their first 16 games before a brief two-game skid against Tampa Bay and Florida in which they were outscored 9-1. It appears Winnipeg is back on track following wins against Florida and Pittsburgh.

Penguins: Lost for the fifth time in six games. Pittsburgh has dropped 13 of its last 17 overall.

Key moment

Niederreiter scored in the first 90 seconds of the game and Vilardi gave the Jets a 3-0 lead in the final minute of the second period. Niederreiter took advantage of a Pittsburgh turnover behind the net and Vilardi scored on a wide-open one-timer from between the circles.

Key stat

The Jets/Atlanta Thrashers franchise won for just the third time in 23 road games against Pittsburgh dating back to March 24, 2007.

Up next

Jets visit Nashville on Saturday, and Penguins host Utah.

With files from CBC

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