Three takeaways from the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 4-1 win over Ottawa Friday evening at PPG Paints Arena.

Brother-on-brother crime

Friday night’s game featured some brotherly competition that got somewhat intense in the third period.

Penguins defenseman P.O Joseph, for the first time, faced his older brother, Ottawa winger Mathieu Joseph, at the NHL level.

The elder Joseph, 25, is playing his second season with the Senators after being selected in the fourth round of the 2015 NHL Draft by Tampa Bay.

His brother, about two-and-a-half years younger, debuted for the Penguins in 2020-21 and is a former first-round pick by Arizona, having been selected in the 2017 NHL Draft.

With just under seven minutes remaining in the third period, as P.O Joseph attempted to clear a puck out of his own zone, Mathieu Joseph led with his shoulder and attempted to land a check near the boards.

After they collided, both players grabbed their respective faces, prompting a pair of high-sticking calls to be issued, which sent them to the penalty box, an occurrence that their parents, Frantzi and France, who were in the house at PPG Paints Arena, seemed to enjoy.

Judging by his postgame remarks on the subject, Mathieu Joseph was the only member of the family who was less-than-entertained by the episode.

“That was not a penalty on me,” he said. “I don’t know what happened there. I think (P.O) got his own stick in the face. I just got caught up in there. I don’t know if they thought this was going to be funny or something, that we both get a penalty at the same time. But stuff happens. I’m sure my parents had a good laugh about it, but I didn’t think it was funny.”

(To his point, upon slow-mo review, it appears Mathieu Joseph was indeed a victim of a phantom call, as his brother’s high-stick to the face was self-inflicted.)

Petry on point

The Penguins doubtless benefitted Friday from the return of goaltender Tristan Jarry, who made his first start since leaving the 2023 Winter Classic with an injury mid-game Jan. 2.

But another key player for the Penguins returned to the ice following an extended 16-game absence: Jeff Petry.

The 35-year-old blue-liner had not played since Dec. 10, when he suffered an undisclosed upper body injury and found himself soon thereafter placed on long-term injured reserve, from which he was activated Friday afternoon.

In his first game back, Petry joined Marcus Pettersson to form the Penguins’ top defensive pairing against Ottawa.

Petry logged 25:25 of ice time Friday night in the Penguins’ 4-1 win, leading the team.

“He helps out the team. You see the things he does all game and he helps out power play, too,” Jarry said of Petry after the game.

Notably, Petry manned the point on the Penguins’ top power-play unit, a duty he had been performing earlier this year in the absence of Kris Letang.

Petry logged an assist on Rickard Rakell’s power-play goal about 11 minutes into the first period, which opened up the game’s scoring.

Damage control

Regaining the services of both Petry and Jarry comes as a needed relief for coach Mike Sullivan and the Penguins, who have been the victim of a nasty injury bug that’s decimated the team’s blue line.

And with no disrespect to 33-year-old Dustin Tokarski, him having to join the Penguins from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for a spot start due to Jarry’s absence was less than ideal.

From Dec. 22 to Jan. 5, the Penguins navigated through a six-game losing streak, during which Jarry was lost, creating the perfect storm of ailments that the team is only now starting to emerge from.

Letang (long-term) and Jan Rutta remain sidelined on injured reserve for now, with forwards Ryan Poehling and Josh Archibald also out of action on injured reserve as well.

However, with Jarry recording a career-high 46 saves Friday and Petry logging a team-high in minutes, the Penguins have gotten back a pair of key players.

During the time both were unavailable, from Jan. 2, the Penguins went 2-4-1, certainly far from a good result but not completely catastrophic.

Having recorded five of a total of six points over their last three games, the Penguins will look to manufacture some more momentum Sunday afternoon on the road at New Jersey.

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