"The Canadiens learned that keeping Evgeni Malkin under wraps is a 60-minute job.

"I thought we did a pretty job against him for most of the game but we gave him too much room on that goal," Canadiens coach Randy Cunneyworth said after Malkin provided the spark for the Pittsburgh Penguins' 5-4 shootout win over the Canadiens Friday night at the Consol Energy Center.

Malkin is the NHL's leading scorer but the Canadiens limited him to two harmless shots on goal through the first 57 minutes. The Penguins tried to set him up as the trigger man on their four power plays but the Canadiens blocked five of his shots and another three went wide of the mark.

But Malkin scored at 17:17 of the third period on a shot that appeared to have been deflected by defenceman Hal Gill, and then he scored the only goal in the shootout.

"He's a great player and if you give him a chance he's going to beat you."

"We wanted to win this game," said Malkin, who leads the NHL scoring race with 55 points. "I didn't play great the first two periods and I wanted to play better in the third."

This was the latest in a series of "most important game of the season" for Montreal and the Canadiens were in a good position going into the third period. They led 4-2 and started the period with a power play for 1:45.

"Killing that penalty was important for us," said Penguins' coach Dan Bylsma, who said his team gained some momentum from the kill. "What you saw in the period was Penguins hockey.""