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PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Penguins coach Dan Bylsma wanted to send a message to his team, putting Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin exclusively on the same line. Consider it received. Attacking on offence early and often, the Penguins topped the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 on Saturday night as Jussi Jokinen scored the go-ahead goal in the third period to help give Pittsburgh a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference playoff series. Pittsburgh peppered Sergei Bobrovsky with 50 shots on goal, keeping the Blue Jackets goalie busy all night. "We competed hard," Crosby said. "We played desperate and really aggressive. Thats the game we have to play. Its not always going to result in 50 shots, but its our style of play." Chris Kunitz had a power-play goal and Kris Letang scored into an empty net for Pittsburgh, which has the upstart Blue Jackets on the verge of elimination with an opportunity to close out the series Monday during Game 6 in Columbus. "Their coach challenged them and they responded," Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards said. "Now, we have to do the same thing on Monday." It hasnt been easy for the Penguins, a team considered by many a Stanley Cup contender. Columbus, which began the series searching for its first playoff win in franchise history, twice rallied to stun the heavily favoured Penguins and outshot Pittsburgh three of the previous four games this series. Boone Jenner scored the lone goal for Columbus, which played its first Game 5 in franchise history. "I dont think anybody in this room would say theyre uncomfortable going into the next game," Blue Jackets forward Ryan Johansen said. "Like weve been saying, all the guys, we believe we can get this done." Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury recovered from a game-changing gaffe in Game 4 for the victory on Saturday, making 23 saves. Fleury is 4-1 in his last five games after a playoff overtime loss. "He was solid," Crosby said. "He showed his experience tonight." Bobrovsky stopped 48 shots for the Blue Jackets. "They were going to the net hard and obviously it was something they talked about, to make it hard on Bobrovsky," Richards said. "Its how they wanted to play the game." Crosby and Malkin, despite playing on the same line and combining for eight shots, still havent scored through five playoff games, but the message was sent. "I think we went into the game with a good idea that we were going to see that," Bylsma said. "With the matchup, we were able to give those guys a good opportunity to play together and be a force." Crosby, who led the league in scoring with 104 points, hasnt scored in his last 10 playoff games overall, while Malkin has gone nine without a goal. Richards hopes to extend the goal-less drought another game. "I have the last change, so its something I can possibly control a little bit better," Richards said. "But it makes for something different when you see (Crosby) and (Malkin) on the same line." The teams were tied at 1 entering the third, but Jokinen touched a backhand rebound past Bobrovsky along the far post 6:16 into the period. Letang scored an empty-netter with 1:01 to play to seal it. A 3-1 lead appeared to be a kiss of death for the team leading in the first four games of the series. Not on Saturday. Both sides endured wild momentum swings through the first four games, all decided by a 4-3 margin where the winning team rallied from a 3-1 deficit every time for the first time in league history. The Penguins twice had an opportunity to take a two-game lead in the series, while Columbus put Pittsburgh in a two-goal hole two times, only to come up short. The Penguins were seconds away from taking a 3-1 lead during the best-of-seven series in Game 5 when Fleury misplayed a puck behind the net, leading to Brandon Dubinskys tying goal that forced overtime and Nick Folignos innocent-looking wrist shot from the blue line that evaded Fleury and evened the series. Fleury, who was benched during Pittsburghs run to the conference finals last year, responded Saturday. "I think dealing with the pressure that he has, he was able to turn the page pretty quickly," Crosby said. "Thats what he needs to do, especially in the playoffs." Jenner helped the Blue Jackets score first Saturday with a power-play goal midway through the opening period. Fleury sprawled to cover a rebound at the top of the crease, but the puck came loose and Jenner jammed a shot home along the near post. Kunitz tied it with a second-period power-play goal, corralling a bouncing rebound in front of the net and backhanding it past Bobrovsky. Jokinens goal in the third put the Blue Jackets on the brink. "I expect nothing other than what theyve done all year, to respond," Richards said. NOTES: The NHL announced a 7 p.m. start for Game 6 in Columbus. ... Penguins D Brooks Orpik missed the game with an undisclosed injury. ... Penguins F Brian Gibbons (undisclosed) was out for a third straight game. ... Marcel Goc returned to the lineup for Pittsburgh after missing four games with a foot injury. ... Blue Jackets D Fedor Tyutin (lower body) played after missing two games, while D Ryan Murray (lower body), who missed Game 4, was also back in the lineup. Brad Hunt Jersey . Ryu (8-3) allowed a run and three hits in six innings and struck out six in his 13th start. In his first 13 starts last season -- his first in the major leagues -- the left-hander was 8-5 with a 2.85 ERA. This was the ninth time this year that Ryu has allowed fewer than three earned runs, and he is 7-0 in those games. William Karlsson Jersey . -- Conor Casey scored two goals, his first of the season, as the Philadelphia Union beat Chivas USA 3-0 on Saturday night. http://www.officialgoldenknightspro.com/...knights-jersey/. The San Angelo, Texas product, who was a high school and college quarterback sensation in the Lone Star State, will start his first CFL game with the Saskatchewan Roughriders (9-4) on Friday at Mosaic Stadium against the leagues top team, the Calgary Stampeders (11-2). Max Pacioretty Jersey . "There are a lot of things that are going very well in this organization. Im not coming in here to rip things apart," Nicholson told reporters Friday. "I know what Hockey Canada was when I started, and I know where this (Oilers) organization is today. Oscar Lindberg Jersey . -- A lawyer for the fiancee of former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez asked a judge Friday to throw out perjury charges, saying Shayanna Jenkins did not wilfully lie as she was bombarded with 1,630 questions over two days before a grand jury. DENVER -- Maxime Talbot was simply looking to help kill a penalty. That he scored a short-handed goal in the process, well, the Colorado Avalanche certainly wont argue. Talbot broke a second-period tie, and Semyon Varlamov stopped 27 shots to lead the Avalanche to a 4-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night. "Every time you get a goal on a PK its always huge," said Talbot, who has scored 16 short-handed goals. Tyson Barrie, Ryan OReilly and Matt Duchene also scored for the Avalanche, who bounced back from an 8-2 loss to the Oilers two weeks ago in Edmonton. That lopsided loss was on their mind. "We knew what happened last time when we played there. We came ready," Talbot said. Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had goals for the Oilers, who finished their road swing 0-4 and were outscored 14-4. They also were without Sam Gagner after he was ejected in the first period when he knocked down Paul Stastny with a stick to the face. That was a sensitive subject after the game. Oilers coach Dallas Eakins really didnt think Gagner did anything that warranted an ejection. "I thought it was by accident when that stick came up," Eakins said. "I thought you could see it immediately, when the guy went down, Gags was concerned. When you mean to do it, you skate away with a smirk on your face. "All I was looking for from the official was the explanation. ... Suddenly, everything changed after the Jumbotron showed it." Edmonton pulled goalie Devan Dubnyk for an extra skater with 1:53 remaining, but couldnt score the equalizer. Duchene added an empty-net goal with 1.1 seconds remaining. He also had two assists. Talbot scored the winner with 1:32 remaining in the second period with the Oilers on the power play. Edmonton turned over the puck, Marc-Andre Cliche carried it up the ice, and then fed it to Talbot, who slid a backhanded shot past Dubnyk. "The short-handed goal, its frustrating," Eakins said. "Youve been waiting the whole game for a power play. The power play not only goes out and gives them a 2-on-1, the next unit goes out and gives them a breakaway. The whole bench is shaking their head. Its disgusting." Varlamov made it hold up throughout thee third period, and in the process vanquished some demons against Edmonton after being rocked for eight goals on Dec.dddddddddddd5 at Rexall Place. "Oh yeah. It was a nightmare, especially for me," Varlamov said of his last encounter with the Oilers. Edmonton took a 2-1 lead at 12:10 of the second period when Nugent-Hopkins sent a wrist shot past Varlamov. It didnt last long as OReilly tied it by tapping in a pass from rookie Nathan MacKinnon. Duchene also had an assist on the play, his second of the night. He has 10 points (four goals, six assists) in five games. Asked before the game about his recent scoring spree, Duchene shrugged and said, "I just got back to doing what I was doing before I got hurt." Duchene missed a few games with an oblique injury in late November and then had a virus that zapped his strength. He finally feels back at full strength, he said. "When it goes in, it goes in," Duchene said. "When it doesnt, it doesnt, and thats hockey. You just want to keep it going." Barrie scored on a 5-on-3 power play early in the second period, courtesy of Gagners crosscheck and an unsportsmanlike penalty against Hall. Gagner and Stastny were battling after a faceoff when Gagner used both hands to shove his stick into Stastnys face. Stastny stayed down on the ice for a moment before heading over to the bench, where the trainers appeared to examine his nose. Gagner was assessed a major penalty and sent to the locker room. Hall drew an unsportsmanlike penalty at the end of the period. "Taylor Hall did not say one thing to that referee," Eakins said. "Another player said it that was going down the hallway, and it was nothing terrible. "To light up a guy, to put you down 5-on-3, I came out at the start of the period, after a cooling off period, as were supposed to do as coaches, and was basically told by the ref to ... I cant say what he said to me. Just looking for simple explanations but couldnt get them." NOTES: Oilers D Corey Potter finished his two-game suspension for boarding Anaheim F Nick Bonino over the weekend. He is eligible to play Saturday against St. Louis. ... Hall and Nugent-Hopkins each had a goal and an assist. ' ' '