Malkin leads Pens past Kings 4-2

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

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 Crosby injured his right ankle Jan. 18, Malkin has seven goals and 10 assists in nine games, including 11 points in his last four.

The Kings, last in the NHL with 49 points but 8-4-1 in their last 13, fell behind 4-0 in the second period and slipped to 3-2-1 on a season-high, eight-game road trip. They hadn't lost in Pittsburgh since a 4-1 defeat on March 29, 1997, going 5-0 with two ties since then.

Penguins goaltender Dany Sabourin won for only the second time in the team's last 20 games, and only his fourth appearance over the span. He made 26 saves despite allowing goals by Derek Armstrong and Brian Boyle in the third period.

Malkin's playmaking and scoring are greatly responsible for the Penguins' ability to stay at or near the top of the crowded Atlantic Division race even without Crosby. Crosby, last season's NHL scoring champion and MVP, returned to practice Friday but remains at least several weeks away from playing.

Malkin, a natural center who had been playing out of position as a wing on Crosby's line, looks comfortable back at his natural position. He scored twice on the power play and assisted on Ryan Malone's 17th goal, barely 12 hours after Malone's wife, Abby, delivered the couple's first child, a boy.

Malkin made it 1-0 midway through the first with nine seconds remaining on a Penguins two-man advantage that would have lasted 34 seconds. He gathered a rebound at the edge of the right circle and beat goalie Jason LaBarbera with a shot just below the crossbar.

Malone scored in the opening minute of the second period, taking Malkin's drop pass and putting a shot on goal that appeared to deflect off Kings defenseman Peter Harrold's skate.

Malkin scored his 30th goal — he had 33 as the NHL rookie of the year last season — about eight minutes later on another power play, on a one-timer from the right circle faceoff dot off Ryan Whitney's cross-ice pass. Whitney has four points in two games after being singled out by coach Michel Therrien for his poor play during a 4-3 overtime loss Monday at New Jersey.

Jordan Staal also scored for Pittsburgh, pushing in a rebound that stayed in the crease with three seconds remaining in the second period — seconds after Sabourin stopped Raitis Ivanans from close range in front of the net.

Malkin barely missed getting his third three-goal game of the season, shooting wide of an open net with 36 seconds remaining, causing him to slam his stick into the rear boards in disgust.

Notes:@ The Penguins are 14-3-3 in their last 20. They are 8-1 against the Western Conference. ... The Kings hadn't played in Pittsburgh since a 3-0 win to start the 2003-04 season. ... Malkin has 28 points in his last 16 games. ... Pittsburgh is 4-1-1 in its last seven. ... The Kings were 0-for-5 on the power play and are 4-for-45 (8.9 percent) in their last 10 games.