Smith has 3 points, Penguins recover to defeat Blue Jackets

PITTSBURGH -- Reilly Smith had a goal and two assists to help the Pittsburgh Penguins end a three-game losing streak with a 5-3 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday.

Evgeni Malkin had a goal and an assist, and Ryan Graves had two assists for the Penguins (28-24-8), who were outscored 12-4 during the losing streak. Tristan Jarry made 33 saves.

"Obviously, there's a lot of noise around the team right now, probably more so than there's been in a lot of years,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “Part of our job is to make sure we focus on the task at hand, and that's the game right in front of us. That's our challenge.”

Andrew Peeke and Jack Roslovic each had a goal and an assist, and Jet Greaves made 26 saves for the Blue Jackets (21-31-10), who were coming off a 6-3 win at home against the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday.

Columbus has lost 14 straight games in Pittsburgh (0-9-5) since a 2-1 win on Nov. 13, 2015.

“We don't really talk about it, to be honest,” Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski said. “It's one of those things where I'm aware of it, but it's one of those things, before the game, no one mentions it. It's just a game we want to go out there and win.”

Jesse Puljujarvi put Pittsburgh ahead 1-0 at 13:33 of the first period. He took a pass from Graves in the left circle, skated through the slot and beat Greaves with a wrist shot for his first goal with the Penguins since signing a two-year contract on Feb. 4.

Malkin made it 2-0 at 18:57 with a slap shot from the right circle after Smith sent him with a touch pass between his legs at the blue line. 

Smith reached 500 NHL points with the primary assist on the play. He has 502 points (211 goals, 291 assists) in 818 games.

"It means a lot, to be honest,” Smith said. "I would have been happy with one growing up. Time goes by fast and you just try to enjoy every moment. It's pretty special.”

Johnny Gaudreau cut it to 2-1 at 4:31 of the second period with a one-timer from the bottom of the right circle off a cross-ice pass from Roslovic.

Peeke tied it 2-2 just 57 seconds later when his wrist shot from the right point deflected in off Malkin’s stick.

“We were in a position to win this game,” Columbus coach Pascal Vincent said. “We played hard, we competed. ... That's why it's frustrating because this one, I really feel like we should've won that game."

Rickard Rakell gave the Penguins a 3-2 lead with a power-play goal at 14:32 when a clearing attempt from Blue Jackets defenseman Erik Gudbranson deflected in off his skate near the right post.

Roslovic tied it 3-3 at 8:04 of the third period, scoring a short-handed goal with a wrist shot from the right circle on a 2-on-1 rush.

However, Jeff Carter scored 22 seconds later on the same power play to put Pittsburgh ahead 4-3. His shot from the goal line deflected in off Peeke’s skate in front.

"I thought we had a slow start in the first, but we battled back in the second, tied the game up,” Gaudreau said. “They found a way to take a 3-2 lead, tied it up again. Kind of just ran out of gas toward the end of the third there. But thought we had a good effort other than the first.”

Smith pushed it to 5-3 at 9:53 with a one-timer from the slot off a backhand pass from Malkin, who won the puck from Werenski in the offensive zone.

“It’s just about playing for each other and playing hard every night,” Jarry said. “That’s all we can do at this point is play hard every night and give it our best.”

NOTES: Pittsburgh forward Drew O’Connor did not play the third period because of a concussion. ... Penguins forwards Noel Acciari and Jansen Harkins each did not play because of an upper-body injury. Acciari continues to be evaluated. Harkins was a game-time decision. ... Malkin has two goals in his past two games after scoring just two in his previous 24 games.