Penguins Ground Jets, 3-1, Sweep Canada Dry

The Penguins remarkable turnabout from a pair of disastrous losses continued for a third-straight game. After spotting Winnipeg a 1-0 lead, our guys found their intensity and purpose over the final 40 minutes at Canada Life Centre to reap an impressive 3-1 triumph.

The night didn’t start out so hot for the ‘Guins. Our guys appeared to be suffering from Jet-lag (pun intended) as the home team dominated the action to the tune of a hefty 11-5 advantage in shots on goal, not to mention a decided 14-5 edge in scoring chances. They grabbed the lead midway through the period on a turning shot from the lip of the left circle by Dominic Toninato following a wave of sustained pressure.

I don’t know what, if anything, was said in the Pens’ locker room between periods. But it was a different black-and-gold squad that took the ice for the final 40 minutes…and took the game away to boot.

The tipping point came with just over five minutes remaining in the second period. Just as a penalty to the Jets’ Andrew Copp expired, Evan Rodrigues burst through the neutral zone and ripped a hard shot on goal. Following up his own rebound, E-Rod outhustled Jets defender Josh Morrissey along the end boards and slipped a pass from behind the net to Jason Zucker, who roofed it over Connor Hellebuyck’s glove from point-blank range to knot the score.

Pretty play.

The Pens grabbed their first lead of the night 3:33 into the final frame. Although he didn’t receive an assist, Dominik Simon made a gritty play along the left wall high in the Jets’ zone. After bulling past defenseman Neal Pionk and absorbing a whack in the process, Simon dumped the puck into the far corner. Danton Heinen flew in to retrieve the rubber and sent a backhand pass to Chad Ruhwedel, who uncorked a drive from the high slot. Quicker than you could say “pizza, pizza,” Hellebuyck served up a juicy rebound and Heinen arrived as Jonny-on-the-spot as he so often does to whip the puck home.

Holding a 2-1 lead, the Pens proceeded to pour it on, outshooting the Jets 17-6 in the third period. There were some tense moments for sure. But Tristan Jarry stopped the deadly Kyle Connor (12 goals) on a 150-foot breakaway and the penalty kill snuffed a late opportunity with Jake Guentzel in the box for goalie interference.

In a case of hidden vigorish, Guentzel hopped on the ice just as Hellebuyck departed for an extra attacker and Jeff Carter cleared the puck. The fortunate confluence of events led to Jake’s game-cinching wraparound tally and the final margin of victory. Capping off a much-needed sweep north of the border.

Throughout the road trip, the Pens were stingy, focused and efficient. A blueprint to follow moving forward.

Puckpourri

The Pens outshot the Jets, 36-31 (31-20 over the final two periods). They controlled the faceoff circle, winning 55 percent of the draws and outhit their hosts for good measure (25-23).

Jarry’s shutout streak was snapped at 161:30, just under 16 minutes shy of the club record he established in 2019. Since yielding six goals against the Capitals on November 14, he’s been lights out over the past four games, posting a .970 save percentage and 0.75 goals against average.

Guentzel continues to carry a hot stick. Jake extended his goals streak to five games and his points streak to six. Heinen’s tally was his sixth of the campaign, tying him for second-best on the team with Rodrigues.

Speaking of E-Rod, he and Zucker continue to display excellent chemistry. They’ve teamed up on six goals this season. Does Mike Sullivan notice?

Rodrigues (two), Carter, John Marino and Ruhwedel collected assists. The E-Rod-Heinen-Simon line dominated in terms of Corsi (73.68).

The win propelled the Pens (8-6-4, 20 points) into a fourth-place tie in the Metro with Columbus. The Blue Jackets have two games in hand. We were 10-7-1 after 18 games last season.

Next up, Vancouver at PPG Paints Arena on Wednesday.