Evgeni Malkin scored in his fifth straight game and added the lone goal in the shootout to give the Pittsburgh Penguins a 5-4 victory over the Montreal Canadiens Friday. Pittsburgh won its fifth straight, with Malkin capping a two-goal third-period rally with his 25th of the season with 2:43 left in regulation. The NHL scoring leader then beat Peter Budaj in the shootout. Dustin Jeffrey scored twice and added an assist for Pittsburgh, and Kris Letang had a goal and an assist. Marc-Andre Fleury overcame a shaky start to finish with 25 saves. Andrei Kostitsyn and Erik Cole each had a goal and an assist for the Canadiens. Lars Eller and Max Pacioretty also scored, and Budaj made 34 saves. The reeling Canadiens have struggled to find traction under coach Randy Cunneyworth, winning just four times in his first 10 games on the bench after taking over for Jacques Martin last month. Yet they looked remarkably sharp – and opportunistic – against the Penguins. Blackhawks 3, Panthers 1: Chicago's Patrick Kane ended a seven-game goal drought as the Blackhawks claimed the overall NHL lead with an easy victory over the Florida Panthers. Kane also set up linemate Jonathan Toews' breakaway score while defenseman Duncan Keith added his first goal in 30 games to help Chicago overtake Detroit for the league lead. The Blackhawks are 5-0-1 in their past six games. The Panthers dropped their eighth straight on the road and missed a chance to move clear of Washington and take the outright lead in the Southeast Division. Hurricanes 3, Capitals 0: In Raleigh, North Carolina, Jussi Jokinen scored twice to lead Carolina to victory over Washington. Jiri Tlusty added a late goal while Cam Ward made 23 saves for his 18th career shutout. The Capitals had an 8-0-1 record in their past nine meetings with the Hurricanes. Lightning 2, Stars 1: In Dallas, Teddy Purcell scored twice to give Tampa Bay a tight win over Dallas. Mathieu Garon made 27 saves for the Lightning. Tom Wandell scored for the Stars, who have only one win from their past six games.
