Malkin, Novak each has 2 points, Penguins defeat Flames

CALGARY -- Evgeni Malkin and Tommy Novak each had a goal and an assist for the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 4-1 victory against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Wednesday.

Egor Chinakhov and Bryan Rust scored for the Penguins (24-14-11), who have won two straight and are 3-0-2 in their past five games. Jack St. Ivany had two assists, and Stuart Skinner made 18 saves.

“It’s really hard to win games in the NHL and you need a full team effort for 60 minutes and that’s what these guys are giving every night,” said Skinner, who has won six of his past seven starts, including three in a row. “Whenever we get a chance to play Calgary, it’s always a good battle, especially [because] they took a couple points in our building not too long ago (2-1 loss on Jan. 10), so it’s nice to get these two points off them here.”

Yegor Sharangovich scored, and Dustin Wolf made 21 saves for the Flames (21-24-5), who have lost their past two (0-1-1) and three of five (2-2-1).

“It wasn’t good enough,” Calgary captain Mikael Backlund said. “There was a part of the game in the second period where we were playing really well and we were creating a lot of chances. We were getting pucks in deep, but we didn’t do that for a full 60. I didn’t like the effort and we can be a lot better, play with more energy and more pace.”

Malkin put the Penguins up 1-0 at 7:49 when he redirected Ryan Shea’s point shot past Wolf, who was sliding from right to left across the crease in an attempt to stop the initial shot.

Chinakhov increased the lead to 2-0 at 12:32 of the second period. Malkin skated into the zone on the left side before sending a cross-ice pass to Novak, who dropped the puck to Chinakhov in the slot for the goal.

“It’s just a really dangerous shot,” Pittsburgh coach Dan Muse said of Chinakhov’s release. “He gets it off so quick. It’s good to have.”

Sharangovich cut the deficit to 2-1 at 19:57 when Zach Whitecloud’s point shot hit off him in the slot and then the right shoulder of Skinner before going into the net.

“We started to get some zone time in the second period and when you score late like that, you hope it goes the other direction,” Flames coach Ryan Huska said.

Rust made it 3-1 just 50 seconds into the third period. His backhand wraparound attempt at the right post bounced into the crease before deflecting in off the blocker of Wolf.

“They scored at the end of the period, which we took that to heart and I think we were kind of just looking to have a response coming into the third and I think that first shift was big being able to get that goal,” Rust said.

Backlund said: “We get a big goal at the end of the period and then they score right away in the third. I feel like after that all the energy goes away and we’ve got to battle back. Being down two in the third, we’ve come back from bigger leads than that. I didn’t like our effort in the third.”

Novak pushed the lead to 4-1 at 9:19, roofing a backhander off the rush over Wolf's glove from in tight.

“It was a good outlet pass,” Novak said, giving credit to St. Ivany, who recorded the only assist. “I tried to look for options on the 3-on-1 and it didn’t seem (like) much, so I just took to my backhand and luckily it went in.”

NOTES: Sidney Crosby has seven points (two goals, five assists) in a four-game streak. His assist was his 785th career road point (301 goals, 484 assists), passing Mario Lemieux (784) for the eighth-most road points in NHL history. ... Penguins defenseman Kris Letang missed the game due to a lower-body injury. ... Calgary forward Martin Pospisil was minus-2 and had five hits in 12:51 of ice time in his season debut. He missed the previous 49 games after sustaining an undisclosed injury during a preseason game on Oct. 1. ... Whitecloud’s assist was his first point since being acquired in a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday for defenseman Rasmus Andersson. ... Flames forward Jonathan Huberdeau was scratched with a lower-body injury.