The Pittsburgh Penguins returned from their break with a big win over a difficult Winnipeg Jets opponent.

PITTSBURGH – Back from the bye week and All-Star break, the Pittsburgh Penguins hit the resume button on the regular season. They would be tested right away as the Penguins played host to the Winnipeg Jets who are sitting as one of the top teams in the NHL.

The Jets also entered Pittsburgh with some reinforcements as recent acquisition Sean Monahan was making his debut with his new team, and Mark Scheifele was elevated off of injured reserve.

For the Penguins, they saw the return of Reilly Smith and a season debut of Jesse Puljujarvi. With Tristan Jarry in goal, the stage was set.

First Period

A fresh-looking Penguins returned from break with some jump in their step. They seemed to carry a good bit of the momentum before Kris Letang broke the ice with the opening goal.

On a loose puck dumped in by Puljujarvi, the Jets looked to get the puck out of their zone, but Letang intercepted and released a nifty backhand. Off the post and past Connor Hellebuyck, Letang’s fourth goal of the season was credited as unassisted.

Jarry wasn’t tested much to start the period, but the Jets eventually got some solid chances that were all stopped by the Penguins netminder. Jarry held down the fort and help push the Penguins into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead.

Second Period

The Jets entered the second period with a ton of momentum holding a pair of Penguins defensemen in their zone for nearly three entire minutes.

Despite that start for the Jets, they got all of the wind taken out of their sails when defenseman Brenden Dillon clipped Penguins forward Noel Acciari in the head. Acciari went down and was later ruled out for the rest of the contest.

Dillon was assessed a game misconduct giving the Penguins a five-minute man advantage. The Penguins power play has struggled quite a bit recently, and didn’t start this chance too pretty, but they notched a pair of goals while a man up.

The first came from the second unit when Lars Eller slowed an Erik Karlsson shot for Jeff Carter to clean up in front of the net. The shot went off of Eller’s stick then off the leg of Jets’ defender Nate Schmidt, setting Carter up perfectly.

With the second dying out of the five-minute chance, Bryan Rust potted an outstanding feed from Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel. Crosby had a shot blocked but it found its way to Guentzel who tried at the net, but it slid right to Rust who didn’t miss.

The Penguins carried their 3-0 lead into the second intermission with once against more great saves from Jarry.

Third Period

Following a brief stoppage early in the third to repair a pane of glass, the Jets once again started the frame as the stronger team. Jarry was still up to the task making multiple huge saves in quick succession.

To cap off those chances, the Jets thought they picked up their first goal of the night from the returning Schiefele, but it was quickly deemed offside thanks to a Penguins coach's challenge.

Jarry continued to stand on his head as the final frame moved along with more big saves piling up.

Time eventually crawled all the way down with a huge win back from break and yet another shutout from Jarry. With this shutout, Jarry moved into sole possession of the NHL lead with six.

Make sure you bookmark Inside the Penguins for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and so much more.

Penguins Forward Leaves Game After Nasty Hit

Penguins Forward Officially Completes NHL Comeback

Rangers Release Former Penguins Champion

Penguins Could Have New Lineup vs Jets

Penguins Have New Look After All-Star Break

• undefined
• undefined