Malkin’s 5 points power Pens

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Evgeni Malkin was held scoreless in three of his previous five games, and he missed practice Monday because he was ill.

It seemed the Penguins’ star was losing his grip on the NHL scoring title. One stellar performance was all Malkin needed to regain control.

The Russian All-Star tied a career-high with five points to surpass 100 for the second consecutive season and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Atlanta Thrashers 6-2 Tuesday night.

“He played great tonight, and it’s fun to see that,” captain Sidney Crosby said. “When he’s playing well, everything he touches, he makes something happen. That’s a good feeling, and that’s a good sign for us when he’s going like that.”

Malkin had two goals and three assists to give him 102 points this season. He extended his lead in the scoring race over Crosby to 10 points.

“I’m happy because we won,” Malkin said. “We played great, the team played great. I did not feel great on the day off, but I was better today.”

Sergei Gonchar had a goal and three assists and Kris Letang and Crosby had two assists each for Pittsburgh in a game matching the two hottest teams in the Eastern Conference.

Atlanta entered with a franchise-record six-game winning streak, and the Penguins improved to 11-1-3 under interim coach Dan Bylsma.

Bryan Little and Eric Boulton scored for Atlanta.