Malkin’s hat trick leads Pens’ rout of Senators

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Evgeni Malkin put on a show for Hall of Famer Vladislav Tretiak.

With Tretiak, the former Soviet goalie now serving as Russia’s Olympic hockey general manager, looking on Wednesday night, Malkin had his fourth career hat trick to help the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Ottawa Senators 8-2.

Malkin’s parents became minor celebrities in Pittsburgh in recent years, and the reigning league scoring champion seemed to have some of his better games when they were at Mellon Arena — and he always credited them afterward.

“He’s a good guy and of course a good goalie,” Malkin said. “Maybe he can come the next game; it’s good luck for me.”

Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz tied a club record with four points apiece during Pittsburgh’s five-goal second period, when Ruslan Fedotenko also scored.

Sergei Gonchar added a goal and two assists, and Sidney Crosby three assists for the Penguins (26-11-1), who tied a season high for goals and matched New Jersey with 53 points to head into the holiday break tied atop the NHL standings.

“In a game like this a couple guys will have big nights and that’s good to see,” said Guerin, who had his first four-point game in almost three years.

The game couldn’t have gone worse for the Senators, who are expected to be without captain Daniel Alfredsson for at least a few weeks after he left late in the first period with a left shoulder injury.

“I’ll probably see the doctor [Thursday] and do an X-ray and see what the damage is,” said Alfredsson, whose arm was in a sling. “But I expect at least a few weeks.”

The loss of the team’s career leader in virtually every relevant category and longest-serving captain in the league came on a night Ottawa welcomed back three regulars to the lineup after extended absences: goalie Pascal Leclaire (fractured cheekbone, out 15 games), winger Chris Neil (left knee, 14 games) and winger Shean Donovan (right knee, 17 games).

The Penguins’ Craig Adams hit Alfredsson while his head was down and he was battling for the puck with a Penguin in the left-wing corner, causing Alfredsson’s helmet to fly off and him to lay on the ice for a short time.

Adams was not penalized, and the Senators clearly were not pleased with that. Coach Cory Clouston tersely declined comment repeatedly when asked what he thought of the hit and whether it should have drawn a penalty.

Anton Volchenkov and Chris Kelly scored for Ottawa, which has lost four of six.

“[Alfredsson’s] a big loss,” said Leclaire, who was pulled during the second intermission after allowing six goals on 24 shots. “He’s definitely our leader and a key player on our team. It seems we’re getting the injury bug a little... but we have some good guys in here.

“We all have to step it up a little bit.”