Jets pull away in 3rd against Penguins, stay undefeated

WINNIPEG -- Adam Lowry scored the game-winning goal in the third period, and the Winnipeg Jets remained undefeated with a 6-3 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Canada Life Centre on Sunday.

The Jets trailed 2-0 in the second before scoring three goals in a span of 7:11.

"That was [pretty sloppy] for us," Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. "That 6-on-5 goal, and that 4-on-4 goal (to tie the game 2-2), that's all of a sudden. We weren't great in that period, but we found a way to get ourselves back into it. I thought in the third period we came out and played the way we needed to play."

Mason Appleton had a goal and an assist for the Jets (5-0-0), who remain the only undefeated team in the NHL. Eric Comrie made 39 saves in his first start of the season.

Lars Eller scored twice, and Alex Nedeljkovic made 31 saves in his season debut for the Penguins (3-4-0). The goalie was activated from injured reserve and assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on Thursday and recalled by Pittsburgh on Saturday.

"They've got some high-powered offensive guys that can make you pay for it, and they did just that," Nedelijkovic said. "They got a couple bounces as well. All in all, we played fine, but obviously not good enough to win."

Kevin Hayes scored on the power play to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead at 1:30 of the second. Rickard Rakell's cross-slot pass found Hayes at the side of the net for a one-timer.

"I thought we did some good things," Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. "Obviously we're just giving too much up. I think we can't give up what we've been giving up and expect to win consistently. Defensively we've got to find another level."

Eller put Pittsburgh ahead 2-0 at 5:21, finding a loose puck on the rebound of a redirected shot from Erik Karlsson.

Kyle Connor cut it to 2-1 at 12:18 on a 6-on-5 advantage from a delayed penalty call. Moments after Nikolaj Ehlers was tripped inside the Penguins zone, he set up Connor for a shot from the inside the face-off dot.

"I thought we did a good job answering once they had that lead on us," Appleton said. "Just kind of a game of waves and momentum changes. Glad we stuck with it and fought until the end there."

Mark Scheifele tied it 2-2 at 17:36, jumping on a rebound from Colin Miller's point shot.

"[The Jets] are pretty consistent with their game," Crosby said. "Even when we got the lead, I thought they didn't open up. They just kept playing the same way. Credit to them, they were able to get back into it. When you get a lead like that, some teams will open up and they didn't. And we've got to find a way to get that next one without giving up what we gave up."

The Jets took a 3-2 lead with Vladislav Namestnikov's redirection of Ehlers' pass from the edge of the crease at 19:29.

"The one thing about Pittsburgh, they have a lot of veterans, a lot of guys who know how to play," Arniel said. "They strip pucks really well, and I thought they did a really good job with that. We were trying to be cute with the plays we were making. It was really more about execution, and then our compete."

Eller tied it 3-3 at 1:39 of the third with a sharp angle shot from the bottom of the circle, beating Comrie glove side.

Lowry put Winnipeg ahead for good when he tapped in Appleton's pass that made it 4-3 at 4:20. Appleton extended the Jets' lead to 5-3 at 7:41, and Nino Niederreiter scored into an empty net at 17:30 for the 6-3 final.

NOTES: The Jets are the fifth Canada-based team in the past 30 years to win each of its first five games to start a season, joining the 2019-20 Montreal Canadiens (nine), the 2019-20 and 2021-22 Edmonton Oilers (five apiece), the 2005-06 and 2007-08 Ottawa Senators (six and five, respectively) and the 1994-95 Quebec Nordiques (five). … Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry was a healthy scratch, and Joel Blomqvist was the backup. They plan to keep three goalies on the roster during their four-game road trip that resumes at the Calgary Flames on Tuesday. … Connor (four goals, one assist), Scheifele (five goals, three assists) and defenseman Josh Morrissey (one goal, six assists) each extended his season-opening point streak to five games.