Pens win to take over first place

PITTSBURGH (AP) — If Evgeni Malkin keeps playing like this, Sidney Crosby may have an unexpected challenge when he returns to the Pittsburgh Penguins lineup: keeping his job.

Malkin scored two goals and set up another and the Pittsburgh Penguins won successive games for the first time since Crosby’s injury by beating the Los Angeles Kings 4-2.

Malkin’s fourth consecutive multipoint game gave him 69 points for the season, four behind NHL leader Alex Ovechkin of Washington — his former Russian Olympic teammate and the only player drafted ahead of him in 2005.

Since moving to center on the Penguins’ top line after team captain Crosby injured his right ankle while running into the boards Jan. 18, Malkin has seven goals and 10 assists in nine games, and Pittsburgh is 5-2-2 during that span.

Malkin’s playmaking and scoring are greatly responsible for the Penguins staying at or near the top of the crowded Atlantic Division race without Crosby. They lead Philadelphia by two points going into Sunday afternoon’s home game against the Flyers, who lost 2-0 at home to the Rangers on Saturday.