The Penguins didn't play a complete game in the loss to Winnipeg

After the Penguins shut out Winnipeg, coming off the bye week/All-Star break, 3-0 on Tuesday at PPG Paints Arena, they knew the Jets would be ready to answer in Saturday's rematch at the Canada Life Centre, especially with a five-game down. consecutively. A strong start earned the Jets a 2-1 victory.

Brian Rast scored Pittsburgh's lone goal and Tristan Jarry suffered his first career loss for Winnipeg, which entered tonight with a 5-0 record. “The pitchers played great for us. We gave up great looks for them and they gave up great looks for themselves,” Erik Karlsson said. “He was there to save us and unfortunately we couldn't find a way to score more goals to give ourselves a better chance.”

The Penguins weren't happy with their fast-paced opening frame start, with the Jets taking a 2-0 lead. “They were very difficult. I think we expected that,” Rust said. “It's tough to play in this building and they usually come out fast and loud. But losing five times, I think we expected more and that's exactly what they did.”

Pittsburgh put together a much better second period of hockey to make up for cutting the deficit to one, and Rust beautifully redirected Karlsson's feed for his second goal in as many games against the Jets. They continued to do so in the third period, but could not find an equaliser.

“It wasn't a good first period. Let's put it that way. It definitely wasn't good enough. I don't think anybody thought it was. I think we started playing a little bit harder after that,” Rust said. “Obviously, there were going to be mistakes. We could have been a little tighter defensively. But I think overall in the last 40 minutes we played hard, had a lot of opportunities and just didn't put enough pucks in the net.”

Pittsburgh's power play, which scored twice after the coaching staff made personnel changes Tuesday, didn't generate much, going 0-for-3 on the night.

“Of course, everyone is working hard, everyone wants to score, everyone is trying to achieve it. It's a little bit more, maybe it's an extra little fight for extra reach or body position, things of that nature,” Rust said. “It was disappointing, especially at this time of year when we're in a position where we need to get as many points as possible.”

John Ludwig returned to the lineup for his first NHL game since Dec. 31, when the rookie defenseman suffered an upper-body injury in a fight with veteran heavyweight Matt Martin. He replaced PO Joseph, who was a healthy scratch for the first time since the flip of the calendar.

Above, the Penguins lost former Jet Jansen Harkins, who played in his first game in Winnipeg, in the second period after being claimed off waivers by the team that drafted him in 2015, following Adam Lowry's strikeout.

Here's what Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan had to say after the game, Pittsburgh's second loss in as many nights after falling 3-2 to Minnesota on Friday at the Xcel Energy Center.

What is your message to the players after a weekend like this, they competed hard, but a loss is a loss: “Yeah, for me it's more about how you win and how you lose. I thought it was a tough competition last night. “I don't think we played a complete game tonight.”

When you look at the offense…has it just gotten to the point where some people can't get the job done and they can't score accordingly? “Well, we need more guys, I think I probably made it clear when I said that. It requires full effort. We need everyone to contribute on our team, on both sides of the puck.”

When you said it wasn't a full effort, what did you think was missing? “(In the beginning) we didn't set up the play we wanted to play, we gave up, I don't know how many odd people rush in the first period, we were careless with the puck. This is not a game that helps you win. You know, we're going into the building and playing against a team that plays in a hurry and they've dropped five games in a row. Those of us in the league understand what this situation is. So I think we didn't have the urgency we needed to have in the beginning and I don't think we played as smart a game as we should have. Thus, we are not willing to play the game that gives us the best chance to win. I thought we answered. The second period, I thought we competed hard, the third period … but we are chasing the game at this point.”

Are there still temptations in this group, you're going out, you're trading opportunities, there's no nine-minute whistle to say, 'oh great, we can do this': “You know how I feel about it, I've talked about it a lot – I don't know if it's a game that's conducive to winning consistently. You will win some but lose some. A casual game is not a game we want to play. We talked a lot about it. We strive to create a game that gives you the best chance to win. Part of that is that we have to be tough to play against. We have to make good decisions with the puck. We cannot attack teams easily. We have to rise above it. We need to get the numbers back. We must be ready to defend. We have to commit to playing away from the puck, and then when the opportunity arises, we have to let our talents do their thing. But I think everything else has to come first.”

Can these things accumulate and become a habit in February? “No, disappointment is a useless emotion for me. We have to understand that there is a certain type of play that gives us the best chance to win, and we have to put that on the ice all the time. When we do that, I think we're competitive.”