Beau Bennett, Craig Adams and Brian Gibbons also scored for the Penguins, who clinched the division after Philadelphia dropped a 2-0 decision to Columbus earlier on Thursday. Captain Sidney Crosby added two assists and Marc-Andre Fleury needed to make only 13 saves for the victory.
Olli Jokinen and defenseman Zach Redmond tallied and Ondrej Pavelec stopped 17 shots for Winnipeg, which fell to 3-5-2 at home since January. The Jets remained seven points behind Dallas for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference with only four games remaining.
Bennett opened the scoring 12:44 into the first period, when he deposited Crosby’s cross-ice feed into an open net just as a Winnipeg penalty expired. Jokinen tied the game at 2:52 of the second by banging home a rebound on a rush and Redmond put Winnipeg ahead less than seven minutes later with his first goal of the season.
Adams forged a tie with 1:13 remaining in the second with a one-timer from the top of the right faceoff circle. Martin’s one-timer from the high slot during a power play at 7:42 of the third put the Penguins ahead for good, and Gibbons added insurance with 3:36 remaining.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Jets coach Paul Maurice was hit in the forehead by a puck but was stitched up on the bench and remained in the game. … Crosby leads the NHL with 102 points. … Pittsburgh is 7-2-0 against the Jets since the franchise moved from Atlanta to Winnipeg.
Pittsburgh | Winnipeg | |
Sidney Crosby 2 | Points | Olli Jokinen 1 |
Craig Adams 1 | Goals | Olli Jokinen 1 |
Sidney Crosby 2 | Assists | Dustin Byfuglien 1 |
Paul Martin 1 | Power Play Goals | N/A |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Marc-Andre Fleury .867 | Save Percentage | Ondrej Pavelec .810 |
Marc-Andre Fleury 13 | Saves | Ondrej Pavelec 17 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Pittsburgh | 21 | 4 | 1-2 | 3-3 | 6 | 19 |
Winnipeg | 15 | 2 | 0-3 | 1-2 | 4 | 26 |