The Penguins can't repeat Tuesday's effort in a road loss to Winnipeg

Despite goaltender Tristan Jarry making an unofficial 29 saves on 31 shots, the Pittsburgh Penguins lost 2-1 to the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday at the Canadian Life Center in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The result was a stark contrast to the last meeting between these two teams on Tuesday, when the Penguins won 3-0 at PPG Paints Arena.

“It was a win against a team that's one of the best teams in the league right now,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said Thursday in Cranberry. “They have a lot of talent, they have a strong team game, they have balance in their squad and they have a really strong goal. It's no secret why their record is so high. It was a great effort on our part. There are many things we can do.”

After Friday's 3-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild, the Penguins' second straight loss was unlikely. To compound his woes, fourth-string forward Jansen Harkins, claimed by the Penguins off waivers from the Jets in October, was unable to complete Saturday's contest. His final turnover of the game came at 14 minutes, 26 seconds into the second period. There is no word yet on his status.

The Jitters scored first at 10:20 when forward Mark Scheifele scored his 15th goal of the season off a pass from Penguins forward Jake Guentzel.

Climbing the right half wall of the offensive zone, Guentzel forced an ill-conceived pass to the left point intended for Penguins defenseman Ryan Graves. Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers lined up in front of Graves and accepted Guentzel's donations, then began a two-on-two with Scheifele against Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson. After gaining possession of the Penguins' zone on the right wing, Ehlers made a cross-ice pass to the left rim, where Scheifele hit a one-timer with Jarry's blocker in close. The only assist was made by Ehlers.

Jets forward Nino Niederreiter scored his 13th goal at 15:39 of the first period.

From the left end of the offensive zone, Jets defenseman Logan Stanley slid a pass to the opposite point of defensive partner Nate Schmidt, who slapped a one-timer that went wide of the near net. The puck ricocheted off the end boards and bounced to the right side of the crease, where Niederreiter beat Penguins defenseman Chad Ruhwedel and put a rebound over Jarry's left skate. Schmidt and Stanley registered assists.

The Penguins got on the scoreboard at 14:08 of the second period with forward Brian Rust's 13th goal.

Graves, who set up a loose puck on the left side of the offensive zone, passed the puck to Karlsson at the opposite point. Taking a moment to survey his options, Karlsson fired a shot toward the net. Driving past Jets forward Morgan Barron in the left circle, Rust managed to get the back of his stick blade on the puck and deflected the puck past goaltender Connor Helleick's glove. Karlsson and Graves were assistants.

Jarry's record fell to 14-15-4.

Notes: Penguins rookie defenseman John Ludwig played his first game back from an undisclosed injury on Dec. 31. Playing primarily on the third pairing with Ruhwedel, Ludwig logged 11:39 of ice time in 17 shifts and had one shot in two attempts. … Penguins forward Noel Acciari (concussion) and defenseman P.O. Joseph (healthy) got a nail. Acciari suffered the injury as a result of a hit by Jets quarterback Brenden Dillon during Tuesday's game. On Saturday, Dillon served the second game of his three-game suspension for a foul. … Penguins forward Sidney Crosby's nine-game hitting streak was snapped. … Jets forward Kyle Connor, who played in the minors with the Youngstown Phantoms of the United States Hockey League, played in his 500th career game.