Malkin, Letang each scores twice, Penguins defeat Rangers

PITTSBURGH --Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang each scored two goals for the Pittsburgh Penguins in their third win in four games, 6-5 against the New York Rangers at PPG Paints Arena on Sunday.

Malkin scored twice in the third period for the second time in two games since returning from a one-game suspension. He scored two power-play goals in a 5-4 loss to the Calgary Flames on Saturday.
"Malkin] is such a dominant player when he's on top of his game," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "He's so impactful. It can't help but make your bench six inches taller. ... When our best players are playing well, that helps that much more."
***[WATCH: [All Rangers vs. Penguins highlights]*
Letang gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead at 16:11 of the first period and put them ahead 4-3 at 4:36 of the third. He's scored 15 goals this season, one fewer than his NHL career high of 16 in 2015-16.

Sidney Crosby had three assists, and Casey DeSmith made 39 saves for Pittsburgh (31-21-7), which holds the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference and is tied in points (69) with the Columbus Blue Jackets for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
"There were a lot of chances, for sure. It was just one of those games," DeSmith said. "It's going to be tough to put together a really substantial [winning] streak, but if we can win more than we lose, we're going to put ourselves in a good spot."
Mats Zuccarello scored twice, and Alexandar Georgiev made 35 saves for New York (25-25-8), which is 7-5-1 in its past 13 games and 11 points behind the Penguins.

"I don't like to take anything from losses," Zuccarello said. "It's just a tough loss for us. We gave the game away there with three quick goals. That's the game right there. ... When you lose hockey games, you don't really care how you do [personally]. I think everyone has a feeling when you lose that you didn't do enough to win the game. That's the feeling."
Letang opened the scoring by passing off Rangers defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk's skate before Zuccarello tied it 1-1 with a power-play goal. Zuccarello attempted to center a pass for Mika Zibanejad, but it went off Penguins forward Teddy Blueger's stick and in at 19:20 of the first.
Marcus Pettersson put the Penguins ahead 2-1 on a power-play goal at 11:41 of the second period.

Brian Dumoulin made it 3-1 on a one-timer at 14:09 of the second before Zuccarello cut it to 3-2 at 14:35 and Ryan Strome tied it 3-3 on a wrist shot at 17:45.
The Penguins killed a double minor after Crosby was called for high-sticking Neal Pionk at 19:47 of the second period. Letang scored his second goal 49 seconds after it expired.
Malkin made it 5-3 on a wrist shot at 7:24 and 6-3 with a spinning backhand at 9:55.
"We got demoralized, and they got a new set of energy and a new lift [after the penalty kill]," Rangers coach David Quinn said. "The whole complexion of the game changed. It was really unfortunate because we battled back from down 3-1 and put ourselves in the position the way we did, there were a lot of good signs."
Kevin Hayes cut it to 6-4 with 5:46 remaining. Zibanejad made it 6-5 with 18 seconds left.

They said it

"The way we battled deserves credit. The boys worked hard. That's going to help us going into the next game." -- Rangers goalie Alexandar Georgiev
"I think we stuck with it. At the beginning of the third, with the kill, I think it gave us a boost and momentum to get a bunch of goals." -- Penguins defenseman Kris Letang

Need to know

Rangers defenseman Fredrik Claesson played 17:30 in his return after missing 13 games with a shoulder injury. … Rangers defenseman Brady Skjei was sidelined with a lower-body injury sustained against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday. ... Pionk did not return following the high stick from Crosby. Quinn said Pionk was sidelined for the third period for precautionary reasons. ... Rangers forward Jesper Fast did not play because of the flu, Quinn said. ... Penguins forward Dominik Simon played at fourth-line right wing after he was a healthy scratch against the Flames on Saturday. Garrett Wilson, who was fourth-line right wing Saturday, was scratched. ... Crosby extended his point streak to five games (11 points; two goals, nine assists) and tied Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin with 1,188 NHL points. The last time Crosby had more points than Ovechkin in the NHL was Jan. 5, 2011. ... The Penguins had at least four goals scored by defensemen in a game for the fourth time in their history and first time since Dec. 26, 1990.

What's next

Rangers: At the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; FS-CR, MSG, NHL.TV)
Penguins: At the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; SN1, SNE, SNP, MSG+, ATTSN-PT, NHL.TV)