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. Josh Allen Youth Jersey ., climbed from seventh to fifth spot in womens competition Sunday at the ISU world junior figure skating championships. Josh Oliver Youth Jersey . The 25-year-old Brazilian player has only made four Premier League appearances for United this season and underwent a medical test in Italy on Friday. http://www.officialjacksonvillejaguarspr...uars-jersey/.ca MLB Power Rankings, the third consecutive week that the As have held top spot and the third straight week that they have been one ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays. Chris Conley Jaguars Jersey . -- Kansas City Royals right-hander Luke Hochevar will have Tommy John surgery that will sideline the pitcher for the season. Taven Bryan Womens Jersey . Specifically, thumbs up to the Canadian-based teams in the NHL, or at least most of them.Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - Anton Khudobin stopped 34 shots to give the Carolina Hurricanes a 4-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday. Eric Staal had two goals while Elias Lindholm and Brad Malone each scored once for the Hurricanes, who have won three of their last four. We werent perfect, but we played hard and competed, said Carolina head coach Bill Peters. Back-to-back wins on the road for the first time this season, so things are going in the right direction. Nazem Kadri had the only goal of the game for the Maple Leafs, who have lost five straight and have scored just twice during that time. Were trying, said Toronto forward Phil Kessel. I dont know if people can see it but we are trying, we just, I dont know, we cant find it right now. Jonathan Bernier gave up three goals on 13 shots before being pulled early in the second period. James Reimer stopped all 18 shots he faced in relief. Carolina got on the scoreboard just 7:06 in as Patrick Dwyers wrister from the right wing was kicked out to the left where Malone snapped it home for his third of the year.dddddddddddd Just 41 seconds later, Lindholm went in on a breakaway and was able to slide a backhand between the pads of Bernier for his ninth goal of the season. The Hurricanes had a goal waived off later in the first, but made it a 3-0 game just 48 seconds into the second on Staals turnaround shot from the slot that found the back of the net. Toronto finally got on the board thanks to the power play as Kadri picked the right corner from the left circle for his 12th of the season. That marker ended a goal drought of 162 minutes, 14 seconds. The goal, though, came with 5:11 to play and the Maple Leafs were unable to cut further into the deficit despite pulling Reimer with nearly three minutes to play. Staals empty-netter with 1:34 to play accounted for the final score. Game Notes Carolina has off until next Tuesday when it will hosts Tampa Bay ... Toronto plays in Ottawa on Wednesday ... Toronto was 1-for-4 on the power play, while Carolina failed on all three of its chances. ' ' '