Malkin scores in return, Penguins top Columbus 2-1

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PITTSBURGH — Evgeni Malkin’s favorite running mate is serving a five-game NHL suspension.No
matter. The Pittsburgh Penguins star can handle things by himself when he needs to.Malkin scored in his
return from a lower-body injury, Sidney Crosby added his 16th goal, and the Penguins beat the Columbus Blue
Jackets 2-1 on Monday night.Pittsburgh won its sixth straight home game behind 32 saves by Marc-Andre Fleury
and some vintage work by Malkin. The Russian missed Pittsburgh’s previous two games after hurting himself in
a game-day skate on Thursday.He appeared to be just fine when he bulled his way toward the Columbus net 4:16
into the second period for his eighth goal of the season. Malkin brushed off defenseman Jack Johnson and
then deftly poked a shot past the outstretched stick of goalie Curtis McElhinney.Not bad for a guy who
sometimes struggles when separated from linemate James Neal, who served the first game of the suspension he
received for kneeing Boston’s Brad Marchand in the head during a loss on Saturday.“There’s no doubt they’re
good together,” Crosby said. “They’re both really good players. When they don’t have each other, they’re
capable of making plays, too.”Crosby pushed his point total to an NHL-best 43 when a centering pass from
Pascal Dupuis deflected off Crosby’s leg and into the net 8:52 into the third.“It looked like that was the
only way I was going to score tonight the way it was going,” Crosby said. “I had some really pretty chances
that didn’t go in … that second one ended up being important for us.”Matt Calvert scored with less than a
minute left for Columbus, spoiling Fleury’s shutout bid. McElhinney made 28 saves but the Blue Jackets
struggled again in Pittsburgh.The Penguins have won all three meetings this season by a combined score of
9-3.“You never want to go 0-3 against a division rival,” Calvert said. “They’re four-point games, and you
lose a lot of points in the race.”Fleury was sharp when tested, though the Penguins did an excellent job of
keeping the Blue Jackets from spending too much time in his face.There were few close calls by the Blue
Jackets after the opening 10 minutes. Fleury’s only mistake came when he narrowly missed scoring a goal into
an empty net with a minute to play, inadvertently sparking a sequence that led to Calvert getting loose for
his second goal of the season with 56 seconds remaining.Pittsburgh, which allowed two goals to Boston in the
final minute on Saturday, didn’t collapse this time.“The main thing is we got the win, got the two points,”
Fleury said. “That’s what matters.”The Blue Jackets are hoping to take a step forward this season after
moving over to the Eastern Conference following 13 mostly dismal seasons in the West. Injuries, however,
have slowed their development.Columbus is missing forwards Marion Gaborik and Nathan Horton, defenseman
James Wisniewski, and reigning Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky. Gaborik and Bobrovsky are out until
after the new year. Horton is out indefinitely with a shoulder injury.The Blue Jackets had won three of
four, including consecutive shutouts over Tampa Bay and Minnesota, to climb within three games of .500. They
controlled play at the outset, controlling the puck for long stretches but had trouble generating solid
scoring chances.“We didn’t have clean shooting lanes,” Columbus coach Todd Richards said. “They created a
lot of second chances, it seems like they created rebounds off Mac’s pads, and it seems like our shots were
caught or hit (Fleury) in the chest.”In addition to Neal, the Penguins also played without defensemen Paul
Martin, Brooks Orpik and Rob Scuderi. Orpik is sidelined indefinitely after being knocked out by Boston’s
Shawn Thornton on Saturday.Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said Monday that Orpik is “doing quite well” but issued
no timetable for his return.NOTES: The Blue Jackets scratched Wisniewski, D Tim Erixon and forward Jack
Skille. … Pittsburgh also scratched forward Harry Zolnierczyk and D Brian Dumoulin. … The Penguins are
8-1 when they have been outshot.

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