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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. Scarpe Asics Uomo Scontate . The judge sternly instructed the prosecutor to restrain himself and he apologized -- then went right back to trying to pick holes in the testimony of the double-amputee runner. It was a harsh day of cross-examination for Pistorius, challenged relentlessly about his account of the moments just before he killed Reeva Steenkamp, as well as circumstances related to several firearms charges against him, including the firing of a gun in a crowded restaurant. Scarpe Asics Uomo Offerte . You can watch coverage on TSN, TSN2 and CTV beginning today at 3pm et/Noon pt. The championships will feature approximately 250 of Canadas best figure skaters in senior, junior and novice as they vie for spots on the national team, international assignments and will act as the final step in the 2014 Olympic qualification process. http://www.asicsscontate.it/. Im very excited about the playoffs, particularly in the Western Conference with amazing match-ups, as well as the wonderful local story in the Toronto Raptors. It should be a blast. Here are my predictions, but based upon my lousy prognostications during the NCAA Tournament, you might be better off going the other way on some of mine - particularly with the Raptors, who I hope and pray are able to win an incredibly difficult match-up. Scarpe Asics Italia . He just didnt expect them to be this good. Darrun Hilliard scored 19 points to lead No. 6 Villanova to a dominating 77-59 victory over Georgetown on Saturday, preserving the Wildcats hopes of a No. Scarpe Running Asics Outlet . Charlottetown scored four times in the third period en route to a 5-2 win over the defending champion Halifax Mooseheads on Friday.MILWAUKEE -- Kyle Lowry and Amir Johnson of the Toronto Raptors both missed Saturday nights game with the Milwaukee Bucks due to injuries. Lowry missed his third consecutive game with a bruised left kneecap suffered in a collision with Miamis LeBron James in Miami on Monday. Johnson left Wednesday nights game against Houuston after only three minutes with an ankle injury.dddddddddddd The starting forward, who has suffered several ankle injuries in the past, also missed Friday nights game against Indiana. Lowry, the Raptors starting point guard, is averaging 17.6 points and 7.6 assists. Johnson is averaging 10.7 points and 6.7 rebounds. ' ' '