WINNIPEG

Jets lose 4-1 on the road against Pittsburgh

Dan Scifo The Associated Press
Published Saturday, February 27, 2016 5:37PM CST

Pittsburgh Penguins' Carl Hagelin (62) gets his stick on a rebound off Winnipeg Jets goalie Michael Hutchinson (34) with Tyler Myers (57) defending during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016. Hutchinson blocked this shot, but Hagelin scored twice in a 4-1 Penguins win. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

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PITTSBURGH -- Carl Hagelin scored twice and the Pittsburgh Penguins welcomed star forward Evgeni Malkin back from injury with a 4-1 victory against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.

Hagelin scored his sixth and seventh of the season for Pittsburgh and Scott Wilson added a third-period goal.

Defenceman Kris Letang scored his 10th of the season for the Penguins, who had Malkin back in the lineup after the 2012 NHL MVP missed 10 games with a lower-body injury. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 27 shots for his 25th win.

The Penguins won their 15th straight home game against Winnipeg, the NHL's second-longest streak against any opponent. The Jets haven't won in Pittsburgh since Dec. 27, 2006, when they were known as the Atlanta Thrashers.

Blake Wheeler scored his 18th of the season for the Jets, who have lost six of their last eight games.

Penguins' centre Nick Bonino also returned for the first time since Jan. 12 after missing 17 games with a hand injury.

Michael Hutchinson made 29 saves for Winnipeg.

Wilson tipped Derrick Pouliot's point shot behind Hutchinson for his fourth goal in five games, giving the Penguins a two-goal lead 5:19 into the third period. Hagelin made it a 4-1 game later in the period on a one-timer from Phil Kessel. It was his second of the game and third with Pittsburgh since he was acquired Jan. 16 from Anaheim.

Pittsburgh went 5-4-1 without leading scorer Malkin. When he was injured, he was tied for ninth in league scoring, second in power play points and tied for seventh in goals. Pittsburgh struggled on the power play without him, going 1-for-24. The Penguins were eighth in the league, converting at a 20 per cent success rate with Malkin in the lineup.

The Jets were without a pair of 17-goal scorers after former captain Andrew Ladd was traded to the Blackhawks on Thursday and Bryan Little was recently lost for the season with a fractured vertebrae.

Marko Dano played his first game with Winnipeg on Saturday. The Jets acquired the 2013 first-rounder and two draft picks from the Blackhawks along with Matt Fraser and Jay Harrison. Dano, who played 48 NHL games with Columbus and Chicago, finished a minus-2 with three shots in 13:50 of ice time on Saturday.

The teams played a scoreless opening period, but Pittsburgh quickly broke the deadlock with two goals in the first minute of the second.

Letang scored 28 seconds into the period with a slap shot over Hutchinson's glove off the rush. Hagelin tipped Ian Cole's shot from the point past Hutchinson 23 seconds later.

The Penguins looked to score another but Hutchinson denied Sidney Crosby's partial open-net opportunity with a diving, desperation stick save.