Breadcrumb Trail Links
Published Nov 19, 2025 • 2 minute read
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Winnipeg Jets’ Neal Pionk (4) celebrates his goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets with Gustav Nyquist (14) during the second period of their NHL hockey game in Winnipeg, Tuesday Nov. 18, 2025. Photo by FRED GREENSLADE /THE CANADIAN PRESSArticle content
Chances are, if you keep shooting the puck, eventually it will find the back of the net.
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“I’ve had a couple good looks throughout the last few games, and that happens as a defenceman when you get good looks. Whether it’s from deep or whether you’re walking on the slot, sometimes they don’t go in,” Jets defenceman Neal Pionk said. “It’s the way it works. I was happy to get one (goal) last night.”
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Pionk scored the winning goal on the power play as the Jets beat the Blue Jackets 5-2 on Tuesday night. The goal was Pionk’s first of the season and eighth game-winning goal in his tenure as a Jet, dating back to the 2019-20 season.
Gustav Nyquist worked the puck to the middle of the ice and slipped a pass across to Pionk, who was stationed at the top of the face-off circle to the right of Columbus netminder Elvis Merzlikins. Pionk’s slapper managed to evade the traffic stationed in front of the net, the puck squeezing between the body and glove hand of the netminder.
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The man-advantage marker also extended the productivity that has occurred in the last run of games. Dating back to the Remembrance Day road game against the Vancouver Canucks, the power play has scored in four consecutive games, converting five of 10 chances.
Prior to this recent spell of productivity, the club was mired in a 0-for-14 skid that started against the Penguins on Nov. 1 and continued through to the Nov. 9 game against the Anaheim Ducks.
“There were some details that were missing early on,” power play coach Davis Payne said when asked about the 0-for-14 slide. “There were some fundamentals that we always revert back to that needed to be tightened up. We had a couple of good meetings that tightened it up, and now it seems to be back in a good spot to grow from. That doesn’t mean there are (not) tougher challenges ahead.”
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On Tuesday, the special team units dished the puck around with accuracy and confidence, creating numerous opportunities. Payne doesn’t see that self-assuredness and confidence as a sign that things are humming. He is more interested in how aggressive his guys are in trying to regain possession of the puck when it’s lost or up for grabs.
“It’s always our retrieval mindset,” he said. “They can all pass and we’ve got guys who can do lots of good things but when we’re looking to retrieve pucks off of three different areas — it’s faceoffs, entries, and attacks — when we’re on with that part of our game, good things usually come from that.”
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