Malkin powers Penguins past Panthers
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sunrise, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Evgeni Malkin had one goal and three assists in the Pittsburgh Penguins' 5-1 victory over the Florida Panthers on Saturday.
Malkin has four goals and 13 assists during an eight-game point streak for the Penguins, who are 6-1-1 over their last eight games. James Neal, Chris Kunitz, Joe Vitale and Jussi Jokinen also lit the lamp.
"I'm not at the top (of my game)," Malkin said. "Sometimes I have the puck and I need to shoot. Instead I pass. It's a mistake for me. Sometimes I'm in a great position to shoot. I just need to shoot myself."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jeff Zatkoff stopped 39-of-40 shots in the victory.
Scottie Upshall scored the lone goal for the Panthers, who have lost four of five.
Tim Thomas was benched after turning aside 9-of-13 shots over two periods. Scott Clemmensen made eight saves in the third frame.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The mistakes went back to us again," Panthers interim head coach Peter Horachek said. "We have to decide if we're going to be a mentally focused team. We have 40 shots; we outchance them, we outshoot them, they capitalize on their opportunities. A good team does that."
The Penguins scored a pair of goals in a span of 32 seconds midway through the first period. The first score came on the power play at the 10:45 mark, when Malkin intercepted Thomas' clearing attempt along the boards and fired a pass toward the net. Kunitz just got enough of the puck to score into an open net.
Vitale put home a rebound from a sharp angle for his first goal of the season and the visitors were up by two after one period.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Malkin made it a 3-0 contest at the 7:23 mark of the middle stanza, as he beat Thomas with a nice forehand-to-backhand deke.
Florida appeared to get on the board with 9:45 to go, but the goal by Brad Boyes was disallowed after replay determined he intentionally kicked in the puck.
The Panthers did score with 2:07 remaining when Upshall used a backhander to beat Zatkoff.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But the Penguins scored just 29 seconds later when Malkin backhanded a pass from behind the net to Neal, whose one-timer got past Thomas.
Jokinen scored at 6:10 of the third period to account for the final margin.
Game Notes
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Panthers fell to 1-2-0 on their five-game homestand ... Florida went 1- for-4 on the power play ... Panthers forward Sean Bergenheim played in his 400th NHL game ... Florida forward Jesse Winchester returned after missing three games with a lower-body injury.