Kessel and Malkin put on a show

coach Mike Sullivan said of Malkin’s unit. “They had a lot of possession time, they had a lot of zone time, they were threats on most shifts. They’re playing hard right now. They score some big goals for us, obviously.”

Malkin and Kessel didn’t wait long to create those goals, either, picking up both assists on Justin Schultz’s opening goal 59 seconds into the game.

Malkin banged home his seventh goal of the season on a rebound off Kessel’s shot less than three minutes later, and the Penguins were off to a 2-0 lead against an Arizona team in last place in the NHL standings and coming off an overtime loss Monday night in Washington.

“It’s easy to play if the first or second shift you score,” Malkin said. “It’s a different game. You’re excited. It was very important tonight. We knew Arizona played backto-back, we know it’s very important to play the first 10 minutes and we showed we were ready to play.”

Malkin and Kessel combined for a third goal in the third period, effectively putting the game away. Malkin’s shot from the left side on the power play deflected off Patric Hornqvist’s stick, Arizona goalie Antti Raanta’s pads and up in the air, and Kessel patiently waited for the puck to dip below the crossbar before he slapped it into the net.

That goal snapped an 0for-5 start to the night for the Penguins on the power play.

“We know we’re five great players and we think we [should] score every shift, every power play,” Malkin said. “It’s not happening sometimes, then we start getting frustrated, but we understand we need to support each other. It’s not going to work every night, but we have great chances.”

Tuesday night, most of those great chances came courtesy of Malkin and Kessel.

The two can be a bit of a tumultuous pairing on the ice, sometimes seeming disjointed and out of sync and other times, well, combining for six points in a game the Penguins needed to win to reclaim momentum after a disappointing Western Canada trip.

Sullivan said he thought the common theme when Malkin and Kessel are clicking together isn’t that they’re both flashing their elite offensive abilities, but that they’re willing to do the hard work it takes to create sustained offensive pressure.

“They’re stopping on pucks, they’re playing in the battle areas, they don’t allow their linemates to get outnumbered down low in the offensive zone, specifically,” Sullivan said. “When they do that and they stay close and they support one another, they end up with extended offensive zone time, and they’re talented enough that usually it results in quality chances.

“When they’re not going as well is when they tend to be a one-and-done line or the types of chances they get are limited to just off the rush.

“A night like tonight, they generated chances both ways, off the rush and within offensive zone play because they were paying attention to the details.”

After the game, though, Malkin already was ready to turn his sights forward, to the Penguins’ next game Friday night against rival Washington.

“It’s just one game,” he said.

“We’re excited to play together, but we need to understand it’s one game. It’s important, but now we need to play more — next game against Washington, Nashville — at the same level. We understand each other pretty well tonight, but it’s not [about] just one game.

“We need to play better and better every game.”