The Winnipeg Jets had three different leads but still couldn’t hang on for the victory.
The Pittsburgh Penguins didn’t have a lead until the dying minutes, but still rallied to defeat the Jets 4-3 on Tuesday at Bell MTS Place.
The two teams traded goals back and forth until the Penguins scored with just over five minutes remaining to take their first lead of the night.
“I don’t think either team would probably say it was their A-game tonight,” Jets captain Blake Wheeler said.
“But they’re a dangerous team. They got dangerous players. They don’t need much. You give them an inch and they’ll take it.”
Wheeler had two assists in the loss, setting up both of Mark Scheifele’s goals. Brandon Tanev had the other marker for Winnipeg.
Sidney Crosby, Riley Sheahan, Derek Grant and Zach Aston-Reese scored for Pittsburgh.
Connor Hellebuyck stopped 26 of 30 shots but was lamenting the Penguins’ third goal on a shot that seemed to fool the Jets netminder.
“I thought we played a pretty good game,” Hellebuyck said.
“I think that one is on me. I got to find a way to stop a weird knuckler, but man, it just sucks ’cause I was having a great game, and the guys were playing fantastic in front of me, so that one’s on me tonight.”
“Gave up a tough one, and got a bad break on one, and it’s in the back of your net, and that’s it,” Jets’ head coach Paul Maurice said. “It’s a tight game. Not a lot of execution probably going both ways. Each team had a hand in that, shutting the other team down a little bit, tough night.”
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The Penguins extended their point streak to five games.
“We got away from our game a little bit,” Scheifele said.
“We got pucks hung up at the red line, and the blueline, and didn’t get it deep. That team lives off turnovers so they made us pay.”
Patrik Laine was held in check as his four-game goal-scoring streak came to an end. He remains one goal shy of 100 for his career.
Casey DeSmith made 24 stops in goal for the Penguins.
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Dustin Byfuglien left the game temporarily early in the first period after a collision near the Jets’ bench. He appeared to take the worst of it after running into Jamie Oleksiak. He looked very woozy after getting up and had to be helped into the bench. Byfuglien went to the dressing room a short time later but returned to the game after missing about 10 minutes of action.
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The Jets opened the scoring shorthanded a little over seven minutes into the contest. Tanev circled the net with the puck and fired it past DeSmith. Tanev’s fourth goal of the season was assisted by Ben Chiarot and Winnipeg had the early lead.
The Pens tied the game with only 1:47 remaining in the period. Dominik Simon spotted a wide-open Crosby in the slot and he sent the backhand past Hellebuyck for his 10th goal. Jake Guentzel drew the other assist. The game was tied after one period in which Pittsburgh outshot Winnipeg 14-10.
The Jets took the lead right back to start the middle period. Just 39 seconds into the stanza, the Jets brought the puck in on the rush, and Wheeler found Scheifele who buried the one-timer behind DeSmith. Nikolaj Ehlers had the secondary assist on Scheifele’s 12th goal of the campaign.
The Penguins immediately answered back though. Hellebuyck got a piece of the shot from Sheahan, but the puck was sitting right on the goal line, and Sheahan poked it across for the Penguins’ second goal. It was just Sheahan’s second goal of the year as Grant and Oleksiak picked up the assists.
The Jets took the lead back with four minutes to go in the period. Scheifele came flying down the wing and beat DeSmith from the face-off dot for his second of the game and 13th of the season. Ehlers and Wheeler once again had the assists on Scheifele’s goal, and the Jets had a 3-2 lead going to the final frame.
The Penguins once again scored the equalizer five minutes in the third. Grant’s shot from the top of the circle handcuffed Hellebuyck. His first of the season was assisted by Garrett Wilson and Oli Maatta, and for the third time in the game, the Penguins had tied it up.
Pittsburgh struck again with just over five minutes remaining in regulation time. Phil Kessel’s centering pass went off Wheeler’s stick right to Aston-Reese. He fired it past Hellebuyck for the go-ahead goal and the Penguins hung on for the victory.
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Andrew Copp and Dmitry Kulikov both missed the game with injuries, while Sami Niku and Mason Appleton were both healthy scratches.
The Jets conclude their mini two-game homestand on Thursday against the Chicago Blackhawks.
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