Penguins rally, defeat Jets in shootout for fifth straight victory

PITTSBURGH -- Kasperi Kapanen and Jeff Carter scored nine seconds apart in the third period, and the Pittsburgh Penguins rallied for a 3-2 shootout victory against the Winnipeg Jets at PPG Paints Arena on Sunday.

Kapanen cut it to 2-1 at 6:55 when Evgeni Malkin's pass deflected in off his skate, and Carter tied it 2-2 at 7:04 when he scored from a sharp angle after intercepting a pass Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck sent off the end boards.
"I think we had a lot of chances throughout the game," Kapanen said. "First two periods weren't our best. We still had chances. I think that [first goal] goes in for us, it's a big weight lifted off everybody's shoulders. … It was a good segment there."
Tristan Jarry made 27 saves for the Penguins (26-10-5), who have won five straight and are 16-2-0 in their past 18 games.
Blake Wheeler had a goal and an assist, and Hellebuyck made 36 saves for the Jets (17-14-7), who have lost four straight (0-2-2). Hellebuyck made 29 saves in a 3-2 loss at the Boston Bruins on Saturday.
"Game goes from a shutout, and what should be a shutout, to an overtime, shootout loss," Hellebuyck said. "The second [Penguins goal], I just had a late decision because it looked like it was going to be icing for a second. Then when I finally decided, my only play was to rip it behind the net and they just have a guy wide open right there. Just seems like my luck right now."

Sidney Crosby scored the only goal in the shootout. Jarry made saves on Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele and Pierre-Luc Dubois.
"They're a great team," Jarry said. "They play a hard game. They're a heavy team. I think they put a lot of pucks on net. They have a good transition game. They forecheck hard. I think that was something that we struggled with at the beginning. I think we caught ourselves in the third period."
Pittsburgh has won seven straight at home, its longest home winning streak since it won 11 straight in 2017-18.
"I think our team has played a lot of consistent hockey," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "I think most recently might be our most volatile team game that we've put on the ice. So I think that's our challenge moving forward, is to put a consistent game on the ice that we think is going to give us a chance to win."
Wheeler put the Jets ahead 1-0 at 3:28 of the first period with a backhand after taking a pass from Scheifele. It was his second game back after missing the previous nine with a lower-body injury.
Connor had a chance to extend the lead on a shorthanded breakaway after intercepting a pass from Malkin, but Jarry stretched for a pad save at 14:29 of the first.
"I think for a back-to-back coming in, against a good team, I thought our special teams, we were pretty sharp," Winnipeg defenseman Brenden Dillon said. "We were able to give ourselves a chance in that area."

Connor made it 2-0 at 8:11 of the second period with a power-play goal from the left face-off circle. It was his 22nd goal of the season and third in the past five games.
"I liked the way we stayed in the fight right to the end," Jets coach Dave Lowry said. "I really liked the way we started the game. We had a very good answer for coming back from a game yesterday. Our preparation was good.
"I thought our leadership guys got our team ready to play. We were in control of the hockey game for the most part. That's a positive."
NOTES: Penguins defenseman Kris Letang played in his 900th NHL game. He had his NHL career-long 10-game point streak (two goals, 13 assists) end. … Jets defenseman Dylan DeMelo did not play after having two shots, one hit and one block in 18:16 against the Bruins on Saturday. Lowry said DeMelo would be evaluated this week, but did not provide specifics. ... Penguins forward Teddy Blueger left after taking a hit from Dillon at 8:55 of the first period. An update was not provided. ... Pittsburgh forward Zach Aston-Reese did not play because of a lower-body injury. He is day to day.