COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Evgeni Malkin and the Pittsburgh Penguins finally flexed their offensive muscles. And they needed every bit of scoring they could muster. Malkin had a hat trick and the Penguins almost blew a four-goal lead before holding off the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 on Monday night to clinch their first-round playoff series in six games. "Its more important that we win the game and (end) the series," Malkin said of the 10th time hes scored three times in a game in his career. "Going into the second round now, you feel so much better when you have confidence. I hope in the next round I can score more." Pittsburgh awaits the winner of the New York-Philadelphia series, with the Rangers leading 3-2 going into Tuesday nights Game 6. Its a good thing for the Penguins that Malkin -- scoreless in his past nine playoff games including the first five in the series -- finally found the net. The Blue Jackets, closer to making tee times than thinking about a Game 7, scored three times in a 4:52 span in the third period to turn up the pressure on the Penguins, an overwhelming favourite before the series got under way. "Were a proud group in here," forward Brandon Dubinsky said. "We didnt want to get embarrassed on home ice. If it was going to be our last game of the season, we didnt want to have any quit. We didnt have any quit in this locker room all season. We just kept pushing and pushing." Brandon Sutter also scored before leaving with an injury and Matt Niskanen had two assists as the Penguins became the first team in the series to score first and win -- but barely. Marc-Andre Fleury made 24 saves and made a couple of big stops after the game turned into a squeaker. "It was a good test," he said of the wild last few minutes. Coach Dan Bylsma said the toe-to-toe matchup heralded a new level of contentious play between the teams. "Weve got a rivalry going here with the Jackets," he said. "They gave us everything we could handle and it was a nice series for them. That was an extremely tough first-round opponent." Fedor Tyutin, Artem Anisimov and Nick Foligno scored for Columbus, Folignos redirect of a Tyutin shot cut the gap to a goal with 4:47 left. A crowd of 19,189 stood and roared the rest of the way as the Blue Jackets piled up scoring chances. The Penguins were hard pressed to fight off the aggressive Blue Jackets after goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who also had 24 saves, was pulled for an extra attacker with under 2 minutes left. Matt Calvert was wide with a potential tying shot with 3:30 left. Dubinskys shot with 35 seconds left was deflected by Fleury. Columbus had overcome a 3-0 deficit at home in Game 4, scoring on a Fleury gaffe in the final seconds of regulation before Foligno won it in the overtime. "After we got the third goal, anything could happen," coach Todd Richards said. "We had done it the last time we played in the building. My thought was it was going to happen." Up until the last few minutes, it was Malkins game. He hadnt scored in the first 332:52 of the series, then scored three times in a span of 26:11. "I could see it coming in the morning skate," teammate James Neal said. "His shot was going into the back of the net." The Blue Jackets, one of the NHLs youngest teams, looked hopeless until Tyutins shot from the right dot ended Fleurys shutout streak at 97:26 -- since the Blue Jackets took a 1-0 lead in the first period of Game 5. But then Anisimov scored from the left point with 6:06 remaining to make it 4-2 and Foligno redirected a Tyutin shot to cut the lead to 4-3. "That was a big win," said Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby, who went goal-less in the series. "Obviously we didnt want to make it as close as we did. But we found a way to win." Notes: The Penguins improved to 8-4 in Game 6s when up 3-2 in the playoffs. ... Columbus was without veteran forward (and Pittsburgh native) R.J. Umberger (shoulder). ... For the second game in a row, the Penguins didnt have D Brooks Orpik, sidelined with an undisclosed injury. ... Sutter was limping as he went to the dressing room in the second period. He did not return. Joe Vitale went knee-to-knee with a Blue Jacket early in the third and was in pain as he left the ice. Jon Leuer Jersey . -- The Phoenix Coyotes have won three in a row for the first time in 4 1/2 months, and theyve done it just in time for the stretch run to the playoffs. Grant Hill Jersey .com) - The Eastern Conference-leading Toronto Raptors are back in the great white north for a brief moment and will host the Dallas Mavericks Friday night from Air Canada Centre. http://www.cheappistonsjerseys.com/?tag=...-wallace-jersey. Viewers in the Jets region can watch the game on TSN Jets at 6:30pm ct/7:30pm et. The game is also avialable on TSN Radio 1290 in Winnipeg at 7pm ct. Stanley Johnson Jersey . And fellow Leaf, Jake Gardiner, hiking in Whistler. Christian Laettner Jersey . Niese pitched seven steady innings on a rainy Tuesday night and Daniel Murphy had three hits to lead New York to a 6-1 victory over the Phillies.NEW YORK, N.Y. - Langston Galloway and Lance Thomas are winning over fans and helping the Knicks win games.Maybe this is the start of Lansanity.Carmelo Anthony had 31 points and 10 rebounds, Thomas scored a season-high 17 points against his former team and New York beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 100-92 on Wednesday night.Galloway added 18 points and his fearless shotmaking had Anthony recalling Jeremy Lin, another unheralded player who made a big impact during the brief run of Linsanity in 2012.Everybody loves the underdog story, Anthony said.Tim Hardaway Jr. hit three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, finishing with 14 for the Knicks, who won for the fourth time in five games, representing nearly half of their nine victories on the season.In this league everybodys a professional, so I feel like if you bring it then you have a chance to beat anybody in the NBA, Thomas said. And with the effort were putting forward, were keeping ourselves in games.Russell Westbrook scored 40 points on 13-of-30 shooting for the Thunder, who were without Kevin Durant for a second straight game because of a sprained big toe on his left foot.I just had to play my game, Westbrook said. Tried to help us find a way to win the game. I didnt do a good job of that.Westbrook blitzed the Knicks in his return from injury in November, leading the Thunder to a 27-point romp. But behind players such as Galloway and Thomas, who werent around then, the Knicks continued their best stretch of the season.Thomas was originally acquired earlier this month from Oklahoma City as part of a three-team trade with Cleveland, then waived and later re-signed. He is on his second 10-day contract and making a good case to stick around, as Galloway will after signing for the remainder of the season on Tuesday.Lance plays hard. He plays every possession like its Game 7 of a championship series. Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. Thats why hes in the league and thats why hes going to play another 10 years. When you have guys like that, you win.The Knickss had an 82-73 lead after Hardaway made consecutive 3-pointers, then fed Thomas for a basket.dddddddddddd. Westbrook scored seven straight to make it a two-point game, but Anthony had a pair of baskets before Hardaway nailed another 3 to cap a 10-0 spurt that extended it to 92-80.Oklahoma City would get it down to 95-90 before Thomas knocked down a jumper with 46 seconds to play. The Thunder didnt make another field goal.Westbrook had stretches of brilliance, including a 3-pointer just before halftime where he essentially landed on top of Galloway, believing he was fouled. But without Durant, the Thunder didnt have nearly enough balance and fell to 23-23. Perry Jones, starting in the league MVPs place, missed all five shots and was scoreless.Jason Smith had 11 points, 11 rebounds and six assists for the Knicks.TIP-INSThunder: Center Steven Adams was chosen Wednesday to play in the Rising Stars Challenge at All-Star weekend. The New Zealand product will play for the World team against the U.S. in the game featuring rookies and second-year players. ... Oklahoma City opened a two-game trip after playing its only home game in the final two weeks of January on Monday. Brooks said it feels like the Thunder have been on the road since the new year. They will practice in New York on Thursday and visit Memphis on Saturday.Knicks: Besides his previous knee problems, Amare Stoudemire was also bothered by ankle and wrist injuries, coach Derek Fisher said. ... The game was originally scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN. It is one of eight Knicks games that have been removed from the NBAs national TV schedule.ANTHONYS ACHESBattling knee soreness for much of the season, Anthony has said he would need to evaluate his availability for back-to-backs, but wasnt ready to do that after Wednesdays game. The Knicks play Thursday in Indiana.Ill see tomorrow, he said. When I get up Ill see how everything reacts and well go from there.UP NEXTThunder: Visit Memphis on Saturday.Knicks: Visit Indiana on Thursday. 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