Pittsburgh 4, Winnipeg 0
When: 7:00 PM ET, Friday, January 4, 2019
Where: PPG PAINTS Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Referees:
Francis Charron, Brian Pochmara
Linesmen:
Travis Gawryletz, Matt MacPherson
Attendance:
18642
By Field Level Media
Goaltender Matt Murray stopped 33 shots Friday for his third shutout this season and the ninth of his career as the Pittsburgh Penguins won their eighth straight game, blanking the visiting Winnipeg Jets 4-0.
Murray also tied his career best with a seven-start winning streak.
Olli Maatta and Matt Cullen scored 33 seconds apart in the first period, Dominik Simon added a second-period goal, and Kris Letang scored an empty-netter for the Penguins, who have received 11 goals from nine players over the past two games.
Cullen also added an assist.
The Penguins, who have won 10 of their past 11 games, reached the midpoint of the season with 52 points.
During their eight-game win streak, they have outscored opponents by a combined 32-9.
Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck made 29 saves for Winnipeg, which has lost three of its past four games.
The Jets played nearly all of the game without top-line winger Nikolaj Ehlers, who got an apparent left arm or hand injury during the first minute when he got checked by Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby.
It was later in the first, at 14:19, when the Penguins opened the scoring on a power play. Maatta picked up his first goal of the season when his shot deflected off the stick of the Jets' Blake Wheeler and fluttered past Hellebuyck's glove.
Cullen scored the hard way 33 seconds later for a 2-0 Pittsburgh lead. A shot by Zach Aston-Reese was deflected by Winnipeg's Patrik Laine and went in off the ear of Cullen, who was driving to the net.
It took a review for the Penguins' third goal to count. Hellebuyck reached back to catch a backhanded shot by Simon. It was called no goal on the ice, but a look at the crossbar camera view showed that the puck crossed the goal line while in the netting of the goaltender's glove.
That made it 3-0 at 14:39 of the second.
Letang's empty-netter with 3:22 left extended his points streak to six games.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Winnipeg |
|
Pittsburgh |
|
N/A |
Points |
Matt Cullen 2 |
|
N/A |
Goals |
Matt Cullen 1 |
|
N/A |
Assists |
Matt Cullen 1 |
|
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
Olli Maatta 1 |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Connor Hellebuyck .906 |
Save Percentage |
Matt Murray 1.000 |
|
Connor Hellebuyck 29 |
Saves |
Matt Murray 33 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Winnipeg
|
33 |
0 |
0-1 |
2-3 |
6 |
36 |
| Pittsburgh
|
33 |
4 |
1-3 |
1-1 |
2 |
32 |
Upcoming Games
-
Pittsburgh will play their next game at home against Chicago. The Penguins have a W/L % of .591 after a win and .526 after a loss.
-
Winnipeg will play their next game at home against Dallas. The Jets have a W/L % of .480 after a win and .867 after a loss.
For more information, contact us