Penguins dominated by Jets from start to finish as their slump continues

PITTSBURGH — Maybe the one positive thing you could say about the latest loss from the Penguins was that at least they didn’t blow a two-goal lead to the Winnipeg Jets on Friday.

For that to happen, they would have had to be competitive for at least a little while.

Instead, the Penguins fell behind on the second shift and never did show much interest in making it a game after that, losing 4-1. The dominant Jets, who boast the NHL’s best record, handed them their second straight loss at PPG Paints Arena.

It dropped them to 7-11-4 and kept them in last place in the Metropolitan Division.

Tristan Jarry, starting his second straight game, kept the Penguins in it for a bit.

The Jets grabbed the lead just 1:22 in. It was the fourth time in his six starts that Jarry let in the first shot he faced, though he was hardly at fault for this one. Evgeni Malkin coughed up the puck in front of his net and Nino Niederreiter capitalized.

It was encouraging that Jarry shrugged off that early goal. In the next 90 seconds, he made outstanding saves on Kyle Connor then Rasmus Kupari to keep it close.

Jarry held down the fort as the Penguins failed to generate scoring chances of their own. But a few minutes into the second period, the Jets scored to double the lead.

Sidney Crosby and a few of the team’s other top players were on the ice as the Jets casually skated in on a 4-on-2 rush. Vladislav Namestnikov slalomed through a pair of sliding Penguins and followed up his own rebound to increase their lead to 2-0.

That was all the cushion Winnipeg and its star goalie, Connor Hellebuyck, needed to leave town with two points. With the win, he improved to 14-2-0 on the year.

Hellebuyck didn’t have to work up a sweat in this one. The Penguins only had six high-danger chances at 5-on-5, per Natural Stat Trick, and they had just 18 shots.

Gabriel Vilardi scored on a Jets power play late in the second period to make it 3-0.

Crosby woke up the sleepy PPG Paints Arena crowd when he dropped the gloves with Kyle Connor in the third period. It was his first fighting major in five years.

Then the Penguins got on the board with a power-play goal by Michael Bunting. But Connor iced the game when he scored his second into an empty net.

The Jets swept their two matchups against the Penguins, outscoring them 10-4.

The Penguins lost to this still-hot Jets team on Oct. 20. That game was the first time they gave up a lead of two goals or more this season. They have done it seven more times since then, including Tuesday’s loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning at home.

Ice chips

— Crosby is still stuck on 599 career goals. He failed to get a shot on goal Friday.

— Kris Letang returned to action Friday after missing three games due to illness.

— Matt Grzelcyk had difficulty getting to his feet after he blocked a Colin Miller blast with his boot. The blue-liner was eventually able to get up, help the Penguins get a clear and get to the bench. He missed one shift but returned to finish the game.

— Vilardi’s power-play goal in the second period made it six goals against in the last six games for the slumping Penguins penalty kill, which is 15 for 21 over that span. They left Vilardi alone in the slot, and he whipped a one-timer past Jarry’s glove.

— Vasily Ponomarev and Ryan Shea stayed in the lineup. Kevin Hayes was labeled as a game-time decision but didn’t take part in pregame warmups and didn’t face his former team. The other scratches Friday were Ryan Graves and Jack St. Ivany.

— Forwards Cody Glass and Blake Lizotte, who are working their way back from concussions, joined the group for Friday’s optional morning skate in Cranberry.

— Penguins defense prospect Harrison Brunicke will be sidelined for a while after he fractured his wrist while playing for his team in the Western Hockey League.

— Tanner Howe, the other player the Penguins took in the second round of the 2024 draft, was in a WHL trade Thursday. The winger moved from Regina to Calgary.

Stat n’at

2-6-1 — the Penguins’ record against the Western Conference after Friday’s loss

Coming up

The Penguins will get right back at it Saturday night when they host West Mifflin native Logan Cooley and the Utah Hockey Club, previously the Arizona Coyotes, at PPG Paints Arena.