Penguins 6, Jets 5
Evgeni Malkin collected two goals and an assist in his return from a left leg injury and defenseman Matt Niskanen netted the go-ahead tally with 7:22 remaining in the third period as Pittsburgh skated to its 13th straight home victory over the Winnipeg/Atlanta franchise.
James Neal scored twice in a 34-second span of the second period and added an assist while Jussi Jokinen tallied and set up a goal. Defenseman Kris Letang notched an assist in his return from a 10-game absence due to an upper-body injury as the Penguins extended their home winning streak to 12 games. Marc-Andre Fleury made 29 saves to give Dan Bylsma his 232nd victory behind the bench with Pittsburgh, tying him with Eddie Johnston (1980-83, 1993-97) as the franchise's all-time winningest coach.
Evander Kane recorded two goals and an assist, Mark Scheifele had one of each and rookie defenseman Jacob Trouba and Blake Wheeler also tallied. The Jets dropped all three contests on their road trip and fell to 0-11-2 in their last 13 visits to the Steel City since the then-Atlanta Thrashers skated to a 4-2 win on Dec. 27, 2006.
Malkin returned from a nine-game absence to score both of his goals after turnovers by Winnipeg defenseman Dustin Byfuglien, the latter coming as he tapped home a loose puck following Neal's shot from the slot at 8:29 of the third period to forge a 5-5 tie. Niskanen provided the final salvo with his blast from the point that skipped under the right skate of Al Montoya (33 saves).
After Jokinen's shot from the slot midway through the second gave Pittsburgh a 4-3 lead, Kane forged a tie nearly six minutes later with a brilliant backhander under the crossbar during a breakaway. Kane tallied again with another backhander - this time from the left doorstep - with 18 seconds left to cap the game's seven-goal session.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Neal scored on a pair of sharp-angle shots from the left faceoff circle in the second period to increase his goal total to 14 in his last 16 games. ... The Penguins had scored first in their previous 10 games before Trouba netted his fourth goal of the season at 1:47 of the first period. ... Scheifele gave Winnipeg a 2-0 lead with 3.9 seconds remaining in the session, getting just enough on a one-timer from the slot to send the puck inside the left post. ... Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby, who recorded an assist, was denied on a penalty shot in the first period after being hooked by Winnipeg D Mark Stuart during a breakaway.