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Pens top Jets for 3rd straight win

Dec 24, 2011 - 5:15 AM Winnipeg, MB (Sports Network) - Marc-Andre Fleury needed to make just 18 stops to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 4-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets at MTS Centre.

Pascal Dupuis, Jordan Staal, James Neal and Joe Vitale scored for the Penguins, who have won three straight. Chris Kunitz added two assists.

"I think the guy (counting) the shots sleeping a couple of times, he (missed) a lot," said Fleury. "Other than that, in the second though, it was quiet, sometimes kind of (slow) back there, but that's when you have to stay focused and get ready for the next shot."

Alexander Burmistrov tallied the lone goal for the Jets, who went 3-2-1 on a six-game homestand. Ondrej Pavelec allowed four goals on 39 shots in the loss.

"I didn't like the way we did some things tonight. and that's the way it was. when the game was going on I said to myself, "this is going to be tough"," said Winnipeg head coach Claude Noel. "Having said that, we go into the third period tied 1-1, we have a chance to win the game. Can we muster up 20 minutes to play? Obviously we weren't able to."

The first goal of the game went to Pittsburgh as Vitale scored his second of the year 13:59 into the first.

Winnipeg tied it 9:11 into the second when Blake Wheeler sent a pass from the right circle to the left and Burmistrov one-timed it home.

The Pens took the lead back for good just 22 seconds into the third when Evgeni Malkin kept a clear in at the right boards and passed it over to the slot where it hit off the stick of a Jet and went to Neal for a one-timer that beat Pavelec.

Less than four minutes later, it was a 3-1 game as a pass from Kunitz at the low left side went to the left circle where Staal one-timed it into the net. His 13th goal of the season came on the power play.

Dupuis sealed the win 41 seconds later as he caught up to the puck at the right circle and snapped it past Pavelec.

Game Notes

The Jets play in Colorado on Tuesday...Pittsburgh hosts Carolina on Tuesday...Pittsburgh defenseman Zybnek Michalek returned to the lineup. He had been out since Nov. 26 with a concussion...Pittsburgh was 1-for-4 on the power play while Winnipeg was 0-for-3.