WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Rookie forward Brad Lambert scored his first NHL goal and backup goalie Eric Comrie made 28 saves as the Winnipeg Jets beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 Saturday.
Kyle Connor scored twice, including an empty-net goal, and Gabriel Valardi and Vladislav Namestnikov also scored for Winnipeg (9-3-0).
Sidney Crosby and Blake Lizotte scored for Pittsburgh (8-3-2). Arturs Silovs made 29 saves.
Vilardi scored 15 seconds into the game, grabbing the rebound of a shot by Josh Morrissey and banking the puck off Silovs into the net.
Lambert struck at 2:43 of the first. He was to Silovs’ right and teammate Parker Ford carried the puck behind the Penguins' net and attempted a wrap around. The puck squirted through the crease and Lambert converted.
The Jets burst out of the gate in the second period, too. Namestnikov and Jonathan Toews rushed into the Penguins’ zone and, after Toews hesitated with the puck for a split second, the Russian winger deflected a pass behind Silovs at 1:17. It was Namestnikov’s sixth of the season.
Connor scored on a penalty shot at 12:13 of the second. Silovs misplayed the puck in the Penguins’ corner during a Pittsburgh power play and threw his stick when Connor lunged for the puck in front of an empty net.
Connor beat Silvos with a backhand shot to the glove side for what was technically a short-handed goal for his seventh of the season.
Crosby scored Pittsburgh’s first goal with 12 seconds remaining in the second, deflecting Erik Karlsson’s point shot behind Comrie.
The Penguins pulled within two goals just after the halfway point of the third. Lizotte crashed Comrie’s crease for his second goal of the season.
The Penguins kept one of the NHL’s top power plays off the scoresheet, killing all three of their penalties.
Penguins: At the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday.
Jets: At the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday in the opener of a six-game trip.
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