The Winnipeg Jets got into a shootout with the Pittsburgh Penguins, which is rarely a good thing.

On this Saturday afternoon, it wasn’t.

Evgeni Malkin had a goal and four assists as the Penguins defeated the Jets, 8-5, at Consol Energy Centre.

The loss left the Jets in 10th place in the Eastern Conferene, and five points out of first place in the Southeast Division, as Florida defeated New Jersey today.

The Jets actually grabbed a quick, 2-0 lead, Kyle Wellwood and Alexander Burmistrov scoring before the game was nine minutes old.

But Pittsburgh roared back with four straight goals, two of them, by Dustin Jeffrey and James Neal, before the first period was up.

Chris Kunitz and Kris Letang kept the Pens rolling into the second, before Tim Stapleton stopped the bleeding, albeit temporarily, with his eighth goal of the season for Winnipeg, making it 4-3, Pittsburgh.

Malkin got behind the Winnipeg defence to restore the Pens’ two-goal lead going into the third.

The Jets pulled within one again on Dustin Byfuglien’s eighth early in the final frame.

But Pittsburgh answered right back on Richard Park’s deflection, 19 seconds later.

By the midway point of the third, Jordan Staal made it 7-4, Pens, in his first game back from a five-week absence due to a knee injury.

Less than three minutes later, the Jets came back with Bryan Little’s 14th of the season.

But Letang ended any hope of another miracle Winnipeg finish with his second with less than three minutes to go, after the Jets Andrew Ladd had taken a slashing penalty.

Neither goaltender had a good afternoon, as both Ondrej Pavelec in the Jets goal and the Pens’ Marc-Andre Fleury allowed soft or bad-angle shots to elude them.

The shots favoured the Pens, 39-25.

It was the most goals given up by the Jets since a 9-8 loss in Philadelphia in October.

Winnipeg’s road record fell to 10-17-4.

Defenceman Zach Bogosian was in the lineup for the Jets.

Bogosian suffered a bruised foot blocking a shot in Thursday’s game in Washington, but took the pre-game skate and was given the all-clear.

Stapleton was back in after missing nine games with an injury and the flu, Wellwood after a two-game bout with the flu.

To make room, the Jets returned Aaron Gagnon to St. John’s of the AHL and scratched Eric Fehr.

The Jets’ record fell to 26-25-6 record, overall.