WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) Connor Hellebuyck made 35 saves and the Winnipeg Jets beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 on Saturday night to end a five-game losing streak.

Nino Niederreiter and Mark Scheifele scored to help Winnipeg avenge a 3-0 loss in Pittsburgh on Tuesday night.

ā€œItā€™s all about winning hockey games right now,ā€ Niederreiter said. ā€œObviously, when you go toward making a push and putting yourself in a great playoff spot, you need to make sure you win close hockey games.ā€

Bryan Rust scored for Pittsburgh, and Tristan Jarry made 29 saves.

ā€œThey are two great goaltenders, and obviously Bucky stood on his head,ā€ Niederreiter said. ā€œHe helped us win that game big time in the second period. They had a big push and we just let them play. But then, we took back over in the third.ā€

The Penguins pulled to 2-1 late in the second period when Rust deflected a point shot from Erik Karlsson past Hellebuyck.

ā€œWe didnā€™t establish the game we wanted to play,ā€ Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. ā€œWe gave up I donā€™t know how many odd-man rushes in the first period. We were careless with the puck. Thatā€™s not a game thatā€™s conducive to winning.ā€

Winnipeg made it 2-0 with 4:31 left in the first period when Niederreiter backhanded a rebound off the boards past Jarry from the side of the net.

The Jets opened the scoring midway through the first. Scheifele beat Jarry by one-timing a pass from Nikolaj Ehlers on a 2-on-1.

ā€œObviously, we didnā€™t start the game the way we needed to,ā€ Pittsburgh defenseman Erik Karlsson said. ā€œThe first period cost us today. Itā€™s tough when you only score one goal. Jars played great for us.ā€

Pittsburgh star Sidney Crosby had his points streak end at nine games.

UP NEXT

Penguins: Host Florida on Wednesday night.

Jets: Host San Jose on Wednesday night.

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