Penguins defeat Bruins in overtime on Malkin goal

PITTSBURGH -- Evgeni Malkin came through in overtime once again Sunday, when his second goal gave the Pittsburgh Penguins a 6-5 win against the Boston Bruins at PPG Paints Arena.
Malkin, who had three points (two goals, one assist), scored at 2:51 for his 12th NHL regular-season overtime goal. That moved him into first place, one ahead of Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby (11 each), on the Penguins all-time list.

Phil Kessel sent the puck through the crease to Malkin for a one-timer past goalie Tuukka Rask. Malkin, whose 17 goals have him one behind Kessel for the Pittsburgh lead, has three goals in his past two games.
WATCH: [All Bruins vs. Penguins highlights\]
Pittsburgh (22-19-3) won a second straight game for the first time since Dec. 1 and 2, when it defeated the Buffalo Sabres twice by a combined score of 9-1.
"The results are critically important this time of year, there's no question," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "The way you get them is you focus on the process. That's what we've talked about. … You can see how tight the League is. You can see how tight our division is. So every point that you get puts you in a better position."

Brad Marchand had a chance to give Boston a 6-5 lead with 1:01 remaining in the third period when he took a penalty shot after being slashed by Jamie Oleksiak on a breakaway. He went forehand to backhand, but Matt Murray slid to his left to deny him.
"Just stop it, was my mindset, to be honest," Murray said. "Obviously, it's a big point in the game if they score there. So my mindset was just to stop the puck."
Marchand was disappointed he didn't score, since he saw Murray's five-hole open before the puck "got stuck in the snow a little bit," but was pleased with the Bruins effort. Despite scoring at least five goals in a fourth straight game, Boston (23-10-7) lost for the third time in its past 11 (8-0-3).
"I thought we've been very good," Marchand said. "We really came together the last month and a half and showed the type of team we can be. … We showed that we can compete every night and we can be a good team. We're consistent. We need to continue to do it after the break. You can't take it for granted."
Each team played its final game before its mandated five-day break.
After the Bruins scored four straight goals to take a 5-3 lead in the second period, Malkin cut it to 5-4 on a power play with four seconds remaining. The puck slid out of a scrum along the near wall before Crosby backhanded a pass out front for Malkin to one-time past Rask.

Riley Sheahan tied it 5-5 by driving into Boston's zone and shooting past Rask's blocker at 2:54 of the third.
With the Penguins leading 3-1, Marchand and Noel Acciari scored one minute apart, at 7:18 and 8:18 of the second period, to tie it 3-3 before David Pastrnak gave the Bruins a 4-3 lead at 12:14.
David Backes chased Tristan Jarry from the game when he made it 5-3 at 17:08. Jarry made 14 saves before Murray stopped each of the six shots he faced in relief.
Rask made 29 saves for Boston.
The Bruins took a 1-0 lead at 1:51 of the first period, when Ryan Spooner wrapped a shot around Jarry's right pad, before the Penguins scored three straight goals.
Oleksiak began Pittsburgh's flurry at 3:53 before Kessel made it 2-1 with a power-play goal at 11:04. Kris Letang extended it to 3-1 at 13:27.

Goal of the game

Malkin's goal at 2:51 of overtime.

Save of the game

Murray's penalty-shot save on Marchand at 18:59 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

Pastrnak's goal at 12:14 of the second period.

They said it

"I think we've been resilient. I think we're playing more of our game. … I think tonight was one where we were down, but we felt like we did some good things and they capitalized on some mistakes. We just stuck with it." -- Penguins captain Sidney Crosby
"It seemed like we had pockets of really good hockey. We had pockets where we just lost focus. Just didn't look like a team I'm used to seeing every night." -- Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy

Need to know

Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron, who scored six goals in his past three games, was held without a goal. He temporarily left after blocking a shot from Letang with his right leg at 19:32 of the first period. He did not seem to put pressure on the leg while being helped to the locker room, but he returned to start the second period. He said he received stitches in his knee. … Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin, Letang's defensive partner, returned after missing two games with a concussion. … Penguins defenseman Ian Cole was a healthy scratch.

What's next

Bruins: At the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, CBC, TVA Sports, SN, NESN, NHL.TV)
Penguins: Host the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday (1 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, ATTSN-PT, FS-D, NHL.TV)