Making his season debut at the NHL level, Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic made 31 saves on 36 shots in a 6-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on Sunday.

An undisclosed injury suffered during a preseason game on Sept. 30 hobbled Nedeljkovic for the first six games of the team’s regular season.

With Nedeljkovic starting, rookie Joel Blomqvist dressed as the backup on Sunday, and Tristan Jarry, a two-time All-Star who is expected to serve as the Penguins’ top choice in net but has struggled this season, was a healthy scratch.

“I felt good,” Nedeljkovic said to media in Winnipeg via audio provided by the team’s media relations staff. “At the beginning there, pucks were kind of hitting me. I didn’t necessarily feel the sharpest at the start but I was putting myself in good spots to make saves. Guys were doing a good job of clearing out sightlines and letting me see the puck. In the second (period), we took a little bit of breath the last couple of minutes. They’ve got some high-powered offensive guys that can make you pay for it. They did just that. And they got a couple of bounces as well. All in all, we played fine but obviously weren’t good enough to win.”

The Penguins’ overall defensive game hasn’t been good enough for most of the season. Entering Sunday, they had allowed an average of 4.17 goals per game, 28th in the 32-team NHL. Sunday’s game did not improve those figures despite the team deploying changes to all four lines as well as the third defensive pairing.

“Obviously, we’re giving too much up,” Penguins forward Sidney Crosby said. “We can’t give up what we’re giving and expect to win consistently. Defensively, we’ve got to find another level.”

After a scoreless first period, Penguins forward Kevin Hayes scored his third goal of the season during a power-play sequence 90 seconds into the second period.

Claiming a loose puck high in the Jets’ left circle, Penguins forward Rickard Rakell snapped a pass to below the opposite circle, where an unguarded Hayes chopped a one-timer into a mostly vacant cage. Rakell and forward Jesse Puljujarvi had assists.

Power play goal for Pittsburgh!

Scored by Kevin Hayes with 18:30 remaining in the 2nd period.

Assisted by Rickard Rakell.

Winnipeg: 0Pittsburgh: 1#PITvsWPG #GoJetsGo #LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/3HFOINoppH

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) October 20, 2024

Eller scored his third goal at 5:21 of the second frame.

Taking a pass at the left point of the offensive zone, Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson considered his options for a moment then released a wrister that was denied by goaltender Eric Comrie. The rebound slid just slightly to the right, where Eller cleaned it up with a backhander. Karlsson and forward Cody Glass, promoted from the fourth line to the third line, tallied assists.

Pittsburgh goal!

Scored by Lars Eller with 14:39 remaining in the 2nd period.

Assisted by Erik Karlsson and Cody Glass.

Winnipeg: 0Pittsburgh: 2#PITvsWPG #GoJetsGo #LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/oOjtVFDUcI

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) October 20, 2024

Former Youngstown Phantoms forward Kyle Connor got the Jets on the scoreboard at 12:18 of the second via his fourth goal.

During a delayed penalty against the Penguins, Jets forward Nikolaj Ehler sauntered his way deep into the left circle of the offensive zone and slipped a clever cross-ice pass through four Penguins skaters to the opposite circle, where Connor fired a forehand shot to the near side which glanced off Nedeljkovic’s glove and bounded into the cage. Ehlers and defenseman Colin Miller tallied assists.

Winnipeg goal!

Scored by Kyle Connor with 07:42 remaining in the 2nd period.

Assisted by Nikolaj Ehlers and Colin Miller.

Winnipeg: 1Pittsburgh: 2#PITvsWPG #GoJetsGo #LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/kQxpteY4og

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) October 20, 2024

Jets forward Mark Scheifele tied the score with his fifth goal at 17:36 of the second period.

Accepting a pass at the right point of the Penguins’ zone, Miller clapped a slapper toward the cage, and Nedeljkovic booted out the offering with his right leg. The rebound caromed into the midsection of Penguins defenseman Ryan Graves and bounced to the left of the crease, where Scheifele swatted in a forehand shot by the blocker of a scrambling Nedeljkovic. Miller and defensive partner Logan Stanley logged assists.

Winnipeg goal!

Scored by Mark Scheifele with 02:24 remaining in the 2nd period.

Assisted by Colin Miller and Logan Stanley.

Winnipeg: 2Pittsburgh: 2#PITvsWPG #GoJetsGo #LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/WMAqDloZGL

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) October 20, 2024

The Jets took their first lead of the contest in the last minute of the second period, literally, at the 19:29 mark through forward Vladislav Namestnikov’s second goal.

After Eller failed to get a puck out of the defensive zone on the right half wall, Ehlers, a fellow Dane, took possession and drove to the cage. Deking around a sliding block attempt by Penguins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk in the right circle, Ehlers fed a slick pass to the left of the crease, where Namestinkov one-touched a forehand shot by Nedeljkovic’s blocker. The lone assist went to Ehlers.

Winnipeg goal!

Scored by Vladislav Namestnikov with 00:31 remaining in the 2nd period.

Assisted by Nikolaj Ehlers.

Winnipeg: 3Pittsburgh: 2#PITvsWPG #GoJetsGo #LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/5NmLbZdske

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) October 20, 2024

Eller tied the score, 3-3, only 69 seconds into the third period.

After Miller slammed Eller into the right wing boards of the Jets’ zone and stole the puck, Eller swiped it back and reversed course. Approaching the net from low in the right circle, Eller elevated a wrister on the near side over Comrie’s left shoulder and found twine. There were no assists.

Pittsburgh goal!

Scored by Lars Eller with 18:21 remaining in the 3rd period.

Winnipeg: 3Pittsburgh: 3#PITvsWPG #GoJetsGo #LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/pUl9TkJucv

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) October 20, 2024

The Jets reclaimed a lead, 4-3, at 4:20 of the final frame when forward Adam Lowry scored his second goal.

After Lowry beat Crosby on a draw in the Penguins’ left circle, the puck slid to the left point and was settled by Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey. Considering his options for a moment, Morrissey snapped off a pass to the far side of the crease. Jets forward Mason Appleton tried to re-direct the puck with his backhand, but his offering was blocked by Grzelcyk’s right skate. The rebound bounced to the left of the crease, where Lowry shuffled in an easy backhander by Nedeljkovic’s left skate. Appleton and Morrissey had assists.

Winnipeg goal!

Scored by Adam Lowry with 15:40 remaining in the 3rd period.

Assisted by Mason Appleton and Josh Morrissey.

Winnipeg: 4Pittsburgh: 3#PITvsWPG #GoJetsGo #LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/urcIpRPLbb

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) October 20, 2024

Appleton’s second goal came at 7:41 of the third.

Retreating to his own blue line, Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson forced an ill-advised pass attempt to the opposite blue line intended for Penguins forward Drew O’Connor, only to have it intercepted by Jets defenseman Neal Pionk. Chugging his way through the neutral zone and gaining the Penguins’ zone, Pionk offloaded a backhand pass to the right wing boards for Appleton. As Karlsson applied minimal resistance, Appleton chucked a pass attempt toward the crease intended for Pionk. A video replay appeared to show Pettersson attempting to block the puck only to inadvertently poke it through Nedeljkovic’s five hole. Appleton was credited with the goal off an assist from Pionk.

Winnipeg goal!

Scored by Mason Appleton with 12:19 remaining in the 3rd period.

Assisted by Neal Pionk.

Winnipeg: 5Pittsburgh: 3#PITvsWPG #GoJetsGo #LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/Fbt7VJb1Oq

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) October 20, 2024

Jets forward Nino Niederreiter scored his first goal on an empty net at 17:30 of the final frame. Morrissey and defensive partner Dylan DeMelo registered assists.

Empty net goal for Winnipeg!

Scored by Nino Niederreiter with 02:30 remaining in the 3rd period.

Assisted by Josh Morrissey.

Winnipeg: 6Pittsburgh: 3#PITvsWPG #GoJetsGo #LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/5RjIWNHcDO

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) October 20, 2024

Notes:

• In addition to Jarry, Penguins forward Michael Bunting and rookie defenseman Jack St. Ivany were healthy scratches.

• Penguins forward Valtteri Puustinen made his season debut after being a healthy scratch for six consecutive games. Logging 9:55 of ice time on 14 shots, Puustinen had no shot attempts and recorded one blocked shot.

• Rakell (114 points) surpassed defenseman Justin Schultz (113) for 78th place on the franchise’s career scoring list.

• Puljujarvi now has five points (one goal, four assists) in six games this season. He scored four points (three goals, one assist) in 22 games last season as he shook off the effects of surgery to each hip during the 2023 offseason.

• Scheifele now has 20 career points (nine goals, 11 assists) in 20 games against the Penguins.

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