Malkin rallies Penguins

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

Evgeni Malkin is on such a roll, he doesn’t even need his stick to score.

The Pittsburgh Penguins center capped a furious third-period rally by taking a shot off his chest to tie the game with 6 seconds remaining, and then added the lone shootout goal to lift the Penguins to a 5-4 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night.

“You’ve got to win a lot of different ways,” Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said. “I’m not sure we deserved the fate we got tonight.”

Neither did the Maple Leafs, who dominated play for long stretches against the NHL’s hottest team but collapsed over the final 13 minutes of regulation as the Penguins won their eighth straight.

“I thought we played an excellent game, and that last goal was kind of lucky where hit him high in the shoulder,” Toronto coach Ron Wilson said. “We got sloppy toward the end.”

The Leafs appeared to be in complete control after Tyler Bozak and Clarke MacArthur scored 19 seconds apart in the third period to give Toronto a 4-1 lead.

Steve Sullivan and Joe Vitale scored to get Pittsburgh back in it.

Pittsburgh kept pressing as the clock ticked down, with Neal taking a feed from Steve Sullivan from behind the net and launching a shot from the right circle that quickly went airborne.

Malkin skated to the front of the net and flinched as the puck soared toward his head. It smacked off his shoulder and into the net, sending the crowd into a roar in a playoff-like atmosphere.