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Pittsburgh Penguins shake off slow start, beat Winnipeg Jets

By Shelly Anderson, The Sports Xchange
Winnipeg Jets left wing Nikolaj Ehlers (27) plays the puck from behind the net as Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (29) watches from the goal in the first period of the Penguins 4-1 win at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh on February 27, 2016. Photo by Archie Carpenter/UPI
1 of 3 | Winnipeg Jets left wing Nikolaj Ehlers (27) plays the puck from behind the net as Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (29) watches from the goal in the first period of the Penguins 4-1 win at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh on February 27, 2016. Photo by Archie Carpenter/UPI | License Photo

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins didn't let a forgettable first period cost them. They came storming out in the second period, scored twice in the first minute of the second and never looked back.

"We didn't have a great first, but then after that we took over. We dominated the last two periods," said Pittsburgh left winger Carl Hagelin, who opened the scoring with the first of his two goals in a 4-1 win against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday afternoon.

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Defenseman Kris Letang also scored in the opening minute of the second. The Penguins also got a goal from center Scott Wilson, two assists each from defense partners Derrick Pouliot and Ian Cole, and several strong saves in the second and third periods from goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.

Right winger Blake Wheeler scored for the Jets.

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Fleury finished with 27 saves He was not being tested much in the first period, a situation that sometimes throws him off of his game.

"That was a little bit of a weird (first) period," Fleury said. "It seems like both teams weren't going as good as they could. In the second, though, right away we got some big goals. (The Jets) got a few more shots. I was OK. Once you get a few shots, you get a little more comfortable. I was all right after that."

With the win, the Penguins kept a hold on the second wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference with 70 points.

Second-line center Evgeni Malkin (10 games, lower body injury) and third-line center Nick Bonino (17 games, hand injury) returned to the Penguins lineup. Malkin shot wide on a nice setup from right winger Phil Kessel early in the first period and finished without a point. Bonino picked up an assist.

The game was the first for center Marko Dano with Winnipeg. He was acquired Thursday in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks. Dano did not register a point.

The Jets are 0-6 in Pittsburgh since they moved to Winnipeg, and the Penguins have a 15-game home winning streak against the franchise, dating to when it was the Atlanta Thrashers.

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In this one, there was no scoring in the first period, and the game looked like it might go the way of Winnipeg's 1-0 home win on Dec. 17?when the only goal came on a penalty shot by center Bryan Little.

It took Pittsburgh more than 11 minutes into the first period to get a shot by Letang from the top of the right circle but the Penguins had a much different start to the second.

Letang took a short pass from right winger Patric Hornqvist and blasted a shot over the glove of Winnipeg goaltender Michael Hutchinson 28 seconds into the second. Just 23 seconds later, Hagelin, from the top of the crease, made it 2-0 when he redirected a one-timer from Cole at the center point.

That score stood until 11:17 of the second. With Malkin in the penalty box on a tripping minor, Wheeler got his stick on a blast from the right point by defenseman Dustin Byfuglien and the puck shot past Fleury to make it 2-1.

"It's tough when you're on the road playing against a team like this, playing from behind," Wheeler said. "Even when it got to 2-0, I think we had the right mentality."

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The Jets thought they might have tied it at 15:53 of the second. During a wild scramble in the crease, the puck got under Fleury, but it was immediately ruled no-goal on the ice, and a review upheld that call, ruling the whistle blew before the puck crossed the goal line.

"I don't know that it changed the emotion of the game. It certainly changed the score, and changed the pressure point for us," Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice said of the disallowed goal. "To be able to tie that would have been real important for the style of game that would have been played after that."

Pittsburgh took a 3-1 lead at 5:19 of the third period. Bonino pilfered the puck from near the corner and fed Pouliot. Wilson got his stick on Pouliot's shot from the right point, and the puck knuckled under Hutchinson.

Hagelin's second goal came at 10:02 of the third. He stuffed the puck inside the left post and off Hutchinson on a back-door feed from Kessel to make it 4-1. Malkin helped draw the Jets away from Hagelin, who said getting his center back made a difference even if Malkin didn't have a point.

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"He's one of the best players in the world, so he's going to open up a lot of room for me and for (Kessel) out there," Hagelin said. "When he's on his game, the other team has to pay so much attention to him that it opens everything up."

NOTES: Pittsburgh recalled D Steve Oleksy from the AHL as a seventh defenseman but did not insert him in the lineup. ... The Penguins also scratched C Kevin Porter and LW Sergei Plotnikov. ... RW Tom Kuhnhackl played despite missing Penguins practice Friday and being labeled a game-time decision because of a lower-body injury. ... It was Penguins coach Mike Sullivan's 48th birthday. ... The Jets scratched D Paul Postma, RW Matt Halishuk and C Bryan Little. ... Winnipeg played in its 10th arena in February. ... Pittsburgh rookie left winger Conor Sheary left the game after being hit into the boards in the second period. He appeared to favor his shoulder. Coach Mike Sullivan said only that Sheary has an upper-body injury.

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