PITTSBURGH -- And just think, Sidney Crosby will be coming back to all this in the very near future. Evgeni Malkin, James Neal and Chris Kunitz won their matchup against Boston's top line and the Pittsburgh Penguins won their ninth in a row, opening up a three-goal lead Sunday in the first period en route to a 5-2 victory over the Bruins at Consol Energy Center. Malkin seized back the NHL scoring lead, 84-82, from Steven Stamkos of Tampa Bay with his three assists and Neal and Kunitz each scored as the Penguins' top line produced three goals. All that production allowed them to withstand two goals from David Krejci, who was set up on both goals by linemates Milan Lucic and Tyler Seguin. Krejci has eight goals in nine games. Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury made 34 saves to win his seventh in a row. Pittsburgh's winning streak is its third of eight games or longer over the last two seasons, including an eight-game streak in January that started the team on its current 21-4-1 run over its last 26 games. Boston's 10-game winning streak in November is the NHL's longest this season. Boston, which played much of the game with only five defensemen after Adam McQuaid was injured early in the first period, dropped its second game in as many days and its first in four games in Pittsburgh since March 7, 2010. The Bruins came in leading Ottawa by two points in the Northeast Division race and couldn't build on that lead. The Penguins swept a four-game homestand to close, if only temporarily, to within two points of the New York Rangers, the Eastern Conference leaders who play the Islanders on Sunday night. Pittsburgh doesn't play again until Thursday, when Crosby -- out since Dec. 5 with concussion-like symptoms -- could make his second anticipated comeback of the season against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Penguins coach Dan Bylsma says he doesn't know yet who will play on Crosby's line, and it's understandable why he is hesitant to break up either of his top two lines. The Penguins' second line of Steve Sullivan, Jordan Staal and Pascal Dupuis accounted for all four of their regulation goals in come-from-behind wins over Toronto (3-2) on Wednesday and Florida (2-1) on Friday, but it was Malkin's line that was creating turnovers, goals and havoc on Sunday. Boston goalie Tim Thomas played in his ninth straight game, but was lifted after giving up three goals on 10 shots in the first period. He was replaced by Marty Turco, who played in his first NHL game this season. Turco was playing in Austria until he was signed to replace the injured Tuukka Rask as Thomas' backup.
Malkin's three assists came after he went three consecutive home games without a point and gave him 502 points in 413 career games. Only Crosby, Alex Ovechkin and Teemu Selanne among active players hit the 500-point mark in fewer games, and Malkin already is eighth in Penguins career scoring. The Bruins, outhit by the Penguins 12-4 in the first period and troubled by neutral zone turnovers in the first two periods, had difficulty developing any rhythm early on and Pittsburgh's fourth line -- not its first -- took advantage on Arron Asham's goal with 3:24 gone. Shawn Thornton blocked Ben Lovejoy's shot, the puck slithered to Asham and he swept it past Thomas, who was playing in his ninth consecutive game. With Neal screening in front, Matt Niskanen made it 2-0 about four minutes later with a shot from just inside the blue line. Neal ended his nine-game streak without a goal by converting on a power play at 18:48 of the first, after Malkin alertly made sure his teammates were onside before he started a rush into the Bruins' zone. Krjeci scored his 19th and 20th goals of the season in the second around Kunitz's goal, his 20th, off Neal's cross-ice pass. Boston had a chance to get back into the game with a power play created when Malkin went off for driving Johnny Boychuk into the boards. But the Bruins couldn't convert and Pascal Dupuis finished it off on a breakaway started when he pushed the puck between's Lucic's legs in the neutral zone. The Penguins are 15-1-1 when Dupuis scores a goal -- he has three in his last three games and 19 overall this season.
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