WINNIPEG, Manitoba — New lines. Different goalie. But still the same result.

The Pittsburgh Penguins shook things up Sunday in the hopes that they would finally start to settle into a groove. But despite sweeping changes, they lost 6-3 to the undefeated Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre. The Penguins blew a 2-0 lead in the loss.

Lars Eller scored two more goals, but Pittsburgh dropped its second game in a row, largely due to more defensive breakdowns and lost battles at the net front.

The Penguins were trying to regroup after a lifeless loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday. After that game, Eller criticized the team’s energy level and effort. Kris Letang said Pittsburgh simply got outworked in that 4-1 defeat on home ice.

Heading into Sunday’s matinee, coach Mike Sullivan blenderized his forward lines. Drew O’Connor jumped up to the top line. Jesse Puljujarvi got a chance to play with Evgeni Malkin. The third line was Anthony Beauvillier, Eller and Cody Glass.

Oh, and Alex Nedeljkovic got the start in goal. It was his first game of the season. He sat out the first six after suffering a lower-body injury during the preseason.

Unfortunately for the Penguins, all that shuffling couldn’t create an early spark.

The Penguins were outplayed in the opening period for a third straight game. They didn’t help themselves with unforced errors trying to escape their zone. Fortunately, Nedeljkovic showed no signs of rust. He kept it scoreless through 20 minutes.

Pittsburgh pulled ahead 2-0 early in the second, starting with a power-play goal.

Kevin Hayes scored that one, his third goal through seven games. He then pointed emphatically toward Rickard Rakell, who set him up with a slick backdoor pass.

Eller tucked in a rebound behind Jets goalie Eric Comrie about four minutes later.

But the Penguins blew that multi-goal lead in short order. The game turned when Kyle Connor scored 6-on-5 after the Jets pulled their goalie on a delayed penalty.

That was the first of three Winnipeg goals in a span of 7 minutes, 11 seconds.

Mark Scheifele whacked in a rebound to tie the score. That was a bad break for the visitors. The puck pinballed off Nedeljkovic then Ryan Graves right to Scheifele.

Vladislav Namestnikov gave the Jets the lead with 31 seconds left in that period.

Nikolaj Ehlers did most of the work. With the teams playing 4-on-4, he pinched on the wall to prevent Eller from poking the puck past him. Then Ehlers patiently got Matt Grzelcyk to flop onto the ice before sliding the pass over to Namestnikov.

Eller pulled the Penguins back even at 3-3 early in the third period. That goal was an awesome individual effort. He pried the puck away from a pair of Jets, wheeled down the wall and from an acute angle sniped Comrie under the crossbar.

The veteran sheathed his stick in celebration after his second goal of the game.

Alas, that play only briefly paused Winnipeg’s onslaught. Adam Lowry scored on a rebound less than three minutes later, then Mason Appleton pushed the lead to 5-3.

The Appleton goal was the back breaker. Marcus Pettersson coughed up the puck while making a stretch pass into the neutral zone. The Jets went the other way, and Pettersson accidentally steered Appleton’s pass between Nedeljkovic’s pads.

Nino Niederreiter added an empty-netter as the Jets doubled up the Penguins.

Ice chips

— Joel Blomqvist backed up Nedeljkovic on Sunday. That meant Tristan Jarry was not in uniform. Perhaps trying to downplay that development, Sullivan declined to name his starting goalie prior to the game. He almost always will reveal that.

— Michael Bunting was a healthy scratch. He had just one point in the first six games of the season and did not provide much of a spark in other ways. Bunting also took an accidental but costly double minor during Friday’s loss to the Hurricanes.

— Valtteri Puustinen made his season debut with Bunting sitting in the press box.

— Ryan Shea rejoined Pittsburgh’s lineup, replacing Jack St. Ivany on the blue line.

— Bryan Rust got banged up trying to score late in the first period and missed two shifts. But he was good to go for the start of the second and finished the game.

— Jets fans chanted “Where is Rutger?” and “Yager’s better” during the third period. That was aimed at Rutger McGroarty, who requested a trade out of Winnipeg this offseason. The Penguins sent fellow prospect Brayden Yager to the Jets to acquire McGroarty, who is currently playing for their American Hockey League club.

— Before the game, the Jets honored Bryan Little, who recently retired as a player.

Stat n’at

4 — The Penguins have allowed four or more goals in five of their seven games.

Coming up

The Penguins flew to Calgary after the game. They will practice there Monday ahead of Tuesday’s matchup with the Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

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