Considering he had played 14 of the team’s first 17 games and the first two stops of a Canadian road trip, Tristan Jarry probably wasn’t expected to play in the Penguins’ 18th game in Winnipeg on Monday.

But he more or less forced the coaches to start him.

After all, he entered Monday’s contest having recorded two consecutive shutouts.

“It had a lot to do with the decision that we made tonight, for sure,” coach Mike Sullivan said after Monday’s morning skate. “When we’re planning the workload of the goaltenders, we always etch in pencil for that reason. Because performance matters. We’re always trying to keep an eye on the big picture and at the same time, make the best decisions that we can for the team in the short run in trying to help this team win games.

“Tristan has had a few strong showings. That had a lot do with the decision that we made tonight.”

While not perfect, Jarry had another strong showing and helped the Penguins defeat the Jets, 3-1, at the Canada Life Centre.

Stopping 30 of 31 shots, Jarry boosted his record to 8-4-3. In the process, he extended a shutout sequence to 161:33 over parts of four games.

The Jets struck first 10:27 into regulation to end that sequence.

Taking a pass at the center point, Jets defenseman Neal Pionk wired a wrister that was blocked in the slot by Penguins forward Evan Rodrigues. Claiming the rebound, Jets forward Dominic Toninato lifted a wrister from the left circle past Jarry’s glove on the far side for his second goal of the season. Pionk and defenseman Brenden Dillon had assists.

Penguins forward Jason Zucker tied the game 1-1 at 14:29 of the second period.

After a power play expired, Rodrigues gained the offensive zone and lifted a wrister from the right circle. After Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck made a save with his chest, Rodrigues stuck with the play, claimed the rebound and swooped behind the net to make a pass to the left circle. From there, linemate Jason Zucker settled the puck and lifted a wrister past Hellebuyck’s glove hand on the far side for his fourth goal. Rodrigues and defenseman John Marino claimed assists.

The Penguins took their first lead of the contest 3:33 into the third period.

After gaining the offensive zone on the left wing, Penguins forward Dominik Simon chipped the puck to the right corner. Linemate Danton Heinen chased down the puck and shuffled a backhand pass to the right point, where Penguins defenseman Chad Ruhwedel chopped a half-slapper to the net.

Hellebuyck made the initial save but allowed a rebound above the crease. Heinen jumped all over the errant puck and jabbed a forehand shot over Hellebuyck’s left shoulder for his sixth goal. Assists went to Ruhwedel and Simon.

The Jets had an opportunity to tie the game when one of the league’s top goal-scorers, former Youngstown Phantoms forward Kyle Connor, got loose on a breakaway, but he momentarily lost the puck then had a hurried wrist shot snuffed out by Jarry.

“His timely saves are huge,” Heinen said. “Like that breakaway in the third there, we needed a big save. He’s been so solid. It’s awesome to see. Super happy for him. Happy to have him back there.”

An empty net goal by Penguins forward Jake Guentzel capped the scoring at 17:45 of the third. It was Guentzel’s eighth goal of the season and matched a career-best goal-scoring streak of five games. Forward Jeff Carter and Jarry were credited with assists.

The victory extended a season-best winning streak for the Penguins to a mere three games, all on the road.

“This is our system,” Ruhwedel said. “It shows when we stick to it, we’re pretty good. It was good to see it come out three games in a row.”

The Penguins have presumably liked what they’ve seen from Jarry the past three games as well.

“He’s playing with great confidence,” Zucker said. “And that’s huge for us. We knew over the summer he was going to take himself seriously and the training seriously and come back and want to have a statement (season). This trip, I think, was huge for him. He’s done a great job. He’s been working his tail off and playing really, really well for us.”

Note: Per the NHL, Jarry’s 161:33 shutout streak included a sequence of 1:19 in which Jarry was pulled for an extra attacker during a 2-1 home loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Nov. 16. It is not immediately clear why the NHL includes time a player did not play in statistics related to how much time he plays.

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