Lach-Ecke » on a night the Penguins needed it

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - For a team seemingly so reliant on megastars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the Pittsburgh Penguins sure do seem to handle their business when forced to play without them.David Perron and Brandon Sutter scored power-play goals less than 4 minutes apart in the third period and the Penguins rallied for a 5-3 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night. Pittsburgh snapped a four-game losing streak and somehow improved to 9-0-1 in their last 10 games with both Malkin and Crosby — who have a combined three MVPs between them — out of the lineup.Even though they werent playing you want to make sure to prove to everyone that you can still play, Perron said. We found a way to win without them.Kris Letang had a career-high five assists in his return to the lineup after missing a week with concussion-like symptoms. Nick Spaling, Steve Downie and Patric Hornqvist also scored for Pittsburgh. Thomas Greiss stopped 19 shots as Pittsburgh beat the Jets for the 14th straight time at home.This one, however, came with a slightly different look. Rather than the sometimes dazzling play of Crosby and Malkin, the Penguins rode the streaking Perron — who has six goals in nine games since arriving in a trade from Edmonton on Jan. 2 — and a gritty performance from a patchwork lineup.Perron tied the game at 3 at 4:23 of the third period by jabbing the puck in between the legs of Winnipeg goaltender Ondrej Pavelec and Sutter put the Penguins in front 7:52 into the third when his centring pass from behind the goal line somehow deflected off Pavelec and into the net. All five Pittsburgh scores came with players in close proximity to the goal mouth.We got to that area better than we have, Penguins coach Mike Johnston said. Its been an emphasis for us. Weve got to get to the paint. Weve got to get to the blue area.Adam Lowry, Jacob Trouba and Chris Thorburn scored for the Jets, who saw their five-game winning streak snapped when they couldnt protect a third-period lead. Pavelec made 25 saves but was sloppy in the third period.Lowry gave Winnipeg the lead 59 seconds into the third before Perron and Sutter delivered on Pittsburghs pieced together power play.We were able to get a couple leads throughout the course of the game, we just werent able to hold them, Thorburn said. So, its unfortunate.The Penguins limped into the All-Star break with their longest losing streak of the season and were forced to start the second half without their franchise cornerstones. Crosby received an injection last Thursday to treat a lower-body injury suffered against Montreal earlier this month and missed the All-Star Game. While Crosby could return on Wednesday in Washington, Malkin is not skating at the moment and could miss a week or more.For a night anyway, Pittsburgh survived without them.Having the blossoming Perron in place certainly helped. Buried on the third line in Edmonton, Perron has become the kind of scoring threat Pittsburgh needed to take some of the pressure off Crosby.Playing with Sid the last little while brought me the confidence, said Perron, who had just five goals in 38 games with Edmonton before the trade. Just trying to carry the wave.Spaling gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead 7:09 into the game following a pretty sequence in which Letang hit Perron with a long stretch pass. Perron drew two defenders and Pavelec as he streaked down the right side. Perrons centring pass landed right on Spalings blade and he flipped it into a wide-open net.Letangs assist was the 200th of his career. He added four more a week after taking a jarring hit from Philadelphias Zac Rinaldo that left the former Norris Trophy-finalist with concussion-like symptoms. He missed a shootout loss to Chicago last week but responded with sublime play on a night the Penguins needed it.I liked every decision he made, Johnston said. He made it with speed and he made it quick. He didnt hang on to it.NOTES: The Penguins traded forward Marcel Goc to St. Louis for centre Maxim Lapierre after the game. ... Crosby did not play on the same night the team gave away a bobblehead in his honour. ... Penguins D Rob Scuderi played in his 400th game with the team. ... The Jets play at Philadelphia on Thursday. ... Winnipeg fell to 13-5-4 against the Eastern Conference. ... The Jets did not have a power play. Pittsburgh went 2 for 3 with the man advantage. 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They ring as true now as they did when Mularkey heard them the first time playing tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame coach 25 years ago. Custom Juventus Jerseys . He, the 25-year-old Toronto backup net-minder and Manitoba native, would be making just his fourth start in the past 16 games against the Jets the following evening. It was the word of opportunity for Reimer, who has fallen into the role of backup, outmatched in recent weeks by Jonathan Bernier, his Quebec counterpart. CLEVELAND -- Anthony Bennetts rough rookie season hit a new bump. The Cavaliers first-year forward will miss at least three weeks with a strained left knee, the latest setback for the No. 1 overall pick who has been a major disappointment for Cleveland. Bennett underwent an MRI on Sunday that showed a strain to his left patellar tendon. He played eight minutes in Saturdays home loss to the New York Knicks. The injury is another obstacle for Bennett, who has shown some improvement lately and signs of developing into a rotational player. "Hes been coming along," Cavs coach Mike Brown said following practice at Cleveland Clinic Courts. "Hes had some pretty good games for us on both ends of the floor. So its tough with the amount of time left in the season, but its part of this." The Cavs expected to endure some growing pains with Bennett, who played just one season at UNLV. The Canadian came into training camp overweight after undergoing surgery on his left shoulder and then it was learned he suffers from asthma, seasonal allergies and sleep apnea. Bennett has appeared lost at times on the floor, and it hasnt helped that hes put added pressure on himself trying to live up to being the top pick. Through it all, Bennett has continued to work hard and there have been flashes of the 6-foot-8, 260-pounders immense talent and potential. The Cavs will likely take a cautious approach with Bennett, and unless they move themselves into playoff position, its possible his season could be over. Bennetts aaveraging only 4.dddddddddddd points and 2.9 rebounds in 13 minutes per game. Also, Cavaliers All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving was sick and missed practice Monday. Hes not expected to miss any time and should be able to travel with the team, which begins a crucial three-game road trip on Wednesday in Phoenix. The Cavs are running out of time to get back into the playoff mix. They enter the week tied with the Knicks in 10th place in the Eastern Conference, 3 1-2 games behind Atlanta for the eighth post-season spot. After facing the Suns, the Cavs will visit Golden State and the Los Angeles Clippers. Next week, the Cavs travel to Miami, Oklahoma City and Houston. The good news is that theyre getting healthier. Centre Anderson Varejao returned to the lineup Saturday after missing 12 games with a back issue and his minutes will likely increase over the next few games, Brown said. The Cavs will also have swingman C.J. Miles back in their rotation after he missed nine games with a sprained ankle. Owner Dan Gilbert vowed his team would be back in the playoffs for the first time since 2010, but that pledge wont happen if the Cavs dont start stringing wins together. On their last West Coast trip, they went 3-2 and played with confidence that carried them for several weeks. "We need to play well, obviously with where were sitting," Brown said. "Im looking forward to it and I think the guys are, too. Hopefully well do what were capable of and come back feeling good about ourselves." ' ' '