Jets 2, Penguins 1
Ondrej Pavelec turned aside 28 shots to preserve the Jets' historic first victory in their return to Winnipeg, a 2-1 triumph over the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday.
Kyle Wellwood and Tanner Glass scored for the Jets in the first regular-season win in Winnipeg since April 12, 1996, shortly before the first incarnation of the Jets was relocated to Phoenix. The club opened the year with three consecutive losses.
Defenseman Zbynek Michalek scored for the Penguins, who again had to do without forward Evgeni Malkin (knee). Marc-Andre Fleury made 32 saves, including one on Alexander Burmistrov's shorthanded breakaway late in the third period that kept it a one-goal game.
The Jets needed only eight seconds to get on the board. After Michalek lost an edge and fell to the ice, Winnipeg found itself with a 3-on-2 that Wellwood completed by slapping a loose puck past Fleury.
The goal equaled the franchise record for the fastest at the start of a game. Ronald Petrovicky scored eight seconds into a 7-4 win over Pittsburgh on Dec. 20, 2003, when the franchise was based in Atlanta.
Glass extended the advantage with 1:33 left in the period, converting a pass from Burmistrov into a one-timer that beat Fleury from in close.
The Penguins finally hit the scoresheet at 18:22 of the second period when Michalek atoned for his earlier miscue by ripping a slap shot from the blue line that eluded everyone, including Pavelec.