Malkin’s points key Pens’ victory

Pittsburgh rallied for a 5-4 victory in Montreal.

MONTREAL (AP) — Evgeni Malkin scored his 35th goal midway through the third period and got his second assist of the game on Sergei Gonchar’s power-play goal moments later to help the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-4.

Malkin, who assisted on Ryan Whitney’s goal 6:46 in to become the first player to reach 80 points this season, scored on a breakaway 10:22 into the third to tie it after Pittsburgh — which led 2-0 and 3-1 — blew a two-goal margin to fall behind 4-3.

Gonchar restored the Penguins’ lead with his 10th goal at 10:58, past Cristobal Huet for Pittsburgh’s second power-play goal of the game 15 seconds after Montreal’s Alex Kovalev was sent off for interference.

Dany Sabourin made 17 saves and Jarko Ruutu and Ryan Malone also scored for the Penguins, who won their third in a row and tied New Jersey for the Atlantic Division lead with 75 points.

Michael Ryder and Roman Hamrlik scored third-period goals to put Montreal up 4-3 early in the third two nights after the Canadiens pulled off the biggest comeback in the storied franchise’s history.

Saku Koivu and Chris Higgins also scored for Montreal, which overcame a 5-0 deficit Tuesday with five unanswered goals before Koivu scored in the shootout for a 6-5 win over the New York Rangers to extend their winning streak to four.

Malkin, who leads the league with 82 points, extended his points streak to 10 games with an assist as Whitney opened the scoring with his 12th goal.

Ruutu added an unassisted goal at 18:47 to put the Penguins up 2-0.

Koivu scored his 12th goal 3:27 into the second to draw Montreal within 2-1, before Malone restored Pittsburgh’s two-goal lead with his 20th goal on a power play at 6:59.

Higgins scored a power-play goal late in the second to draw Montreal within 3-2. Ryder, who scored the Canadiens’ first two goals Tuesday to launch the historic comeback, tied it at 3 with his 12th goal 21 seconds into the third.

Hamrlik gave the Canadiens their first lead of the game 3:25 into the third with Montreal’s second power-play goal.

Pittsburgh won its second in a row at the Bell Centre to split the season series between the two teams.