The Pittsburgh Penguins received a welcome return from Evgeni Malkin and a shutout performance from goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury as they posted a 3-0 victory over the New York Islanders Tuesday. Malkin, who missed much of the second half of last season with injury, had been out five games with a knee injury. He took three shots and his return provided some needed depth for a team already battling injuries. Captain Sidney Crosby is still sidelined while he recovers from concussions he received last season while defenseman Zbynek Michalek was recently ruled out for up to six weeks with a broken finger. Fleury stopped 33 shots for his first shutout of the season and the Penguins (7-2-2) got a goal in each period from Pascal Dupuis, Richard Park and Jordan Staal as they extended their winning streak to four games. The Islanders (3-4-0), who outshot the Penguins but failed to put the puck past Fleury, slipped to their third successive loss. The two teams meet again Thursday in Pittsburgh. Lightning 4, Sabres 3: Mathieu Garon had 36 saves to help visiting Tampa Bay to a sweep of its home-and-home series with Buffalo. Blue Jackets 4, Red Wings 1: James Wisniewski made his Columbus debut after serving an eight-game suspension, and the rookie Ryan Johansen scored his first career goal to send the Blue Jackets past visiting Detroit for their first win. In other games Patrick Kane had the winning goal in a shootout and had two assists in regulation as the host Chicago Blackhawks beat the Anaheim Ducks, 3-2. Jason Spezza beat Cam Ward on the second round of the shootout, giving the Ottawa Senators a 3-2 win over the host Carolina Hurricanes. Joe Pavelski scored twice to lead the San Jose Sharks past the host Nashville Predators, 3-1. Nikolai Khabibulin's 35 saves sent the host Edmonton Oilers past the Vancouver Canucks, 3-2.
