Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) keeps his eye on the loose puck as Pittsburgh Penguins' Bryan Rust (17) and Sidney Crosby (87) battle Jets' Morgan Barron (36) and Nate Schmidt (88) during second period NHL action in Winnipeg on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods
WINNIPEG – Connor Hellebuyck backstopped the Winnipeg Jets to a 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night.
Hellebuyck stopped 35 of 36 shots as Winnipeg snapped a five-game losing streak.
Nino Niederreiter and Mark Scheifele scored for Winnipeg (31-14-5) at before a sellout crowd of 15,225 at Canada Life Centre.
Bryan Rust was the only Penguin to beat Hellebuyck.
Tristan Jarry made 29 saves for Pittsburgh 23-19-7.
The Jets avenged a 3-0 loss to Jarry and the Pens in Pittsburgh on Tuesday.
Jarry stoned Nikolaj Ehlers on point-blank shots twice in the third.
Hellebuyck kept it a 2-1 game when he stoned Lars Eller in the final minute of the second.
The Penguins pulled to within 2-1 late in the second period. Rust deflected a point shot from Erik Karlsson past Hellebuyck. Ryan Graves also assisted.
Winnipeg increased the score to 2-0 when Niederreiter backhanded a rebound off the boards past Jarry from the side of the net. Nate Schmidt’s point shot had missed the net and hit the backboards. Logan Stanley also assisted.
The Jets had drawn first blood midway through the first period. Scheifele beat Jarry by one-timing a pass from Nikolaj Ehlers on a 2-on-1. Ehlers had stolen the puck in his own end, then raced down the ice with Scheifele.
Hellebuyck made a superior save off Jansen Harkins on a 2-on-1 in the final minute of the first period. Early in the first, Hellebuyck had also robbed Colin White from point-blank range after a giveaway by Stanley in front of his own net.
NOTES
Winnipeg all-star winger Kyle Connor played in his 500th game. “¦ Pittsburgh superstar Sidney Crosby had a nine-game point streak (six goals, 11 points) snapped. “¦ Jets defenceman Brenden Dillon served the second of a three-game suspension for hitting Pittsburgh forward Noel Acciari in the head when the two teams played each other on Tuesday. Acciari remained out with a concussion that had resulted from that hit.
UP NEXT
Jets: Host the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday.
Penguins: Host the Florida Panthers on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 10, 2024.
