Clay Stevenson won his first start with the Winnipeg Jets on Monday night.
The 27-year-old goaltender, plucked off waivers from the Washington Capitals last week, made 30 saves in the Jets’ 3-2 road victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Stevenson had previously served as Stuart Skinner’s backup in Winnipeg’s first two games of the 2026-27 regular season.
“I honestly don’t have the words, but it means a lot, that’s for sure,” Stevenson said postgame. “Really wanted to be there for those guys, in this moment, and just try to stay pretty calm and collected in the net. It was really fun. Maybe wanted a lot of redemption for this one, from my NHL debut a while back.”
Stevenson’s first win with the Jets coming against the Penguins is poetic, as he made his first career NHL start against Pittsburgh while with the Capitals at the end of the 2024-25 campaign. In that game, Stevenson made 33 saves in a 5-2 loss and earned praise from head coach Spencer Carbery despite the result.
“Definitely comfortability in [Pittsburgh’s] building,” Stevenson said pregame. “It’s always a great challenge to play against Crosby and Malkin and those guys. It’s an honor to get in the crease any time.
“I kind of felt [my debut] maybe perhaps was a long time coming, but I was definitely blessed to be able to get that first start. Having Ovi, Crosby, Malkin, Carlson out on the ice. It was kind of surreal. You take a look around in that building, especially.”
According to MoneyPuck, Stevenson saved 0.62 more goals than expected, outdueling Pittsburgh’s Sergei Murashov, who saved 0.21 fewer goals than expected. The two goalies have clashed previously in the AHL, where Stevenson was the number-one starter for the Hershey Bears, and Murashov held the same role for their rival Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
“He made some big, big stops, right up until the end of the game,” Jets head coach Scott Arniel said. “He was real solid, looked confident, looked comfortable. It was great to see a kid come in here like that, new organization, late in training camp, and come as advertised. Really liked how he was poised and played well.”
Before Monday’s start, Stevenson’s only NHL experience came with the Capitals, playing in five games over the past two seasons. In those appearances, Stevenson was 3-2-0 with a 2.60 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage.
Skinner is expected to get the bulk of the workload for Winnipeg this season, with Stevenson netting his first start on the back half of a back-to-back for the Jets. However, it appears he’ll be sticking in the NHL, which is not something he could have said within Washington’s organization.
