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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. Durham Smythe Dolphins Jersey .ca presents its latest weekly power rankings for the 2013-14 Barclays Premier League season. Reshad Jones Womens Jersey http://www.authenticdolphinspro.com/Durham-smythe-dolphins-jersey/ . And Richard Bachman, their rookie goalie, is facing a penalty shot a few seconds after the opening face-off. No pressure, right? Bachman stood his ground against Zack Kassian and saw the puck dribble off the Canuck rookies stick, then settled in and backstopped the Stars to a 5-2 win over Vancouver Tuesday that put Dallas in first place in the Pacific Division. Dan Marino Dolphins Jersey . Those cheers seemed more special this time because the captains run on Broadway could soon be over. The adoration surely sounded much nicer to Callahan than all the recent trade talk. Jason Taylor Youth Jersey . Saltalamacchia has agreed to a $21 million, three-year deal with the Miami Marlins, two people familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday.PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The Pittsburgh Penguins spent the off-season revamping the front office, replacing the coaching staff and tinkering with a roster that went five straight springs falling to lower-seeded opponents in the playoffs.Yet some things remained constant. Well, one thing mostly: Sidney Crosby.The two-time MVP scored twice and added an assist as the Penguins beat the Anaheim Ducks 6-4 on Thursday night to make Mike Johnston a winner in his NHL head coaching debut.We have a lot of new faces, Crosby said. Youre always excited to play the first one but especially with so many new faces I think we used that energy to our advantage.Pascal Dupuis added a goal and three assists in his return from knee surgery. Patrick Hornqvist, Blake Comeau and Brandon Sutter also scored for Pittsburgh while Olli Maatta chipped in three assists in his first game of any kind after sitting out the preseason to recuperate from shoulder surgery. Marc-Andre Fleury made 25 saves.Corey Perry had the sixth hat trick of his career for the Ducks, who collapsed after erasing an early three-goal deficit. Ryan Kesler added a goal in his debut with Anaheim. John Gibson struggled while making his first start in his hometown, stopping 33 of 39 shots.We want to play better, Anaheim defenceman Ben Lovejoy said. There were far too many things that went wrong. We need to figure this out because that was embarrassing.The 21-year-old Gibson earned the starting job following a stellar playoff in which he took over for Jonas Hiller. Coach Bruce Boudreau wanted to give Gibson the nod in the opener so the Pittsburgh native could play in front of friends and family. He also had to play in front of the Penguins, who pounced early and never trailed.Weve got to do a better job helping out our goaltender, Anaheim centre Ryan Getzlaf said. We kind of hung him out tonight and tried to play a run-and-gun game against a team that scores goals that well.That part wont change under Johnston, hired to replace Dan Bylsma in June and tasked with making sure Crosby and Evgeni Malkins primes dont go to waste.The early returns were promising.Hornqvist, acquired from Nashville in a draft-day trade that sent talented but turbulent forward James Neal to the Predators, needed all of 5:16 to make an impression. Playing alongside Crosby helped. Crosby won a faceoff at the right dot and slipped a pass to Horrnqvist at the top of the circle.dddddddddddd. The wrist shot deflected off Gibsons arm and into the net and the Penguins seemed to exhale.We hadnt had that line together in preseason, only once, Johnston said. Youre always hoping that those combinations would work as you expect. I thought Patrick Hornqvist added a lot to that line tonight.Crosby doubled the lead just over two minutes later, streaking down the left side and firing a shot that Gibson couldnt get a handle on. The goal was the seventh in the 10 home openers during Crosbys now decade-long career.Dupuis, nine months removed from surgery to repair a torn ACL in his right knee, tapped in a perfect setup from Maatta to make it 3-0 before the season was 15 minutes old.The Ducks, however, quickly erased all the good vibes.Anaheim underwent significant tweaks over the summer, when the best regular season in franchise history ended with another early post-season flameout. The Ducks acquired Kesler, a two-way forward and added centre Nate Thompson, defenceman Clayton Stoner and veteran scorer Dany Heatley while Teemu Selanne retired and Hiller walked in free agency.The moves were made with making the Ducks more suited to the rough-and-tumble post-season. There are six long months to get there. The initial steps were wobbly, but Anaheims offence remains explosive.The Ducks rallied to tie the game at three, with the Penguins doing their best to help Anaheim get back in it. Kesler scored his first for Anaheim with an easy power-play goal 14:22 into the first. Perry then pumped in two, including arguably the easiest goal hell score all year when Fleury ventured far from the net and Patrick Maroon stole the goaltenders pass and sent it to Perry in front of an empty net.Facing the first significant test in what will be a season full of them as they search for a new identity, the Penguins responded behind their captain.Crosby finished off a 3-on-2 break by snapping a show low over Gibsons blocker with 2:26 left in the second to put Pittsburgh back in front for good.NOTES: Johnston is the eighth coach in Pittsburgh history to begin his tenure with a victory. ... Anaheim went 3 for 6 on the power play. The Penguins were 1 for 4 with the man advantage. ... The Penguins plays in Toronto on Saturday night. ... The Ducks continue a season-opening four-game road trip Saturday in Detroit. ' ' '