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. Jackie Robinson Womens Jersey .A. Dickey earned an American League Gold Glove on Tuesday to become the first Toronto Blue Jays pitcher to win the award. Clayton Kershaw Womens Jersey . Viewers in the Canadiens region can watch the game on TSN at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt and listen on TSN 690. The Canadiens have won three in a row and four of their last five games and recently put the finishing touches on a 3-1-0 road trip. http://www.ladodgersprostore.us/Max-Muncy-dodgers-jersey/. His second visit, not so much. Roark (7-5) allowed four runs on 10 hits and one walk over six innings in a 7-2 setback in front of several friends and family members, as the Cubs snapped his personal streak of four consecutive victories on Friday. Max Muncy Womens Jersey . Off-Season Game Plan looks at a Wild team that has a nice mix of proven veterans along with young, inexpensive talent on the rise. When the Wild signed Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, making a big splash in the summer of 2012, it set the franchise on a path to being more competitive, but a big reason that they have been so competitive is the contributions of young players who still have more to give. Kirk Gibson Youth Jersey . LOUIS -- Alexander Steen scored a power-play goal with 59.MONTREAL - Tennis Canada is still holding out hope that its top player Eugenie Bouchard will be on court for an historic Fed Cup tie next week against the Czech Republic.Vice-president Eugene Lapierre said Bouchard, ranked seventh in the world, has yet to confirm whether or not she will play against the defending Fed Cup champions Feb. 7-8 in Quebec City.A three-woman team announced Wednesday did not include the Westmount, Que., native, but they have until two hours before the draw on Feb. 6 to finalize their roster and add a fourth player.Bouchards absence would leave little star power in the best-of-five series. The Czechs will be without their top two players, as world No. 4 Petra Kvitova and No. 16 Lucie Safarova are not on their team roster.It will be Canadas first appearance in the elite World Group I. Bouchard did much to get them there by going 4-0 in wins over Serbia and Slovakia in 2014.Its the first time were there and wed like to go to the next round and make it to the semifinals, said Lapierre. But Eugenie knows that, and shes demonstrated in the past that she likes playing in the Fed Cup. So Im sure her decision will be the good one.If Bouchard opts out, Canada will likely go with a young prospect as its fourth player.Bouchard reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open this week before falling in straight sets to Maria Sharapova.After the defeat at the first Grand Slam of the season, Bouchard was asked if she was looking forward to Fed Cup. She replied that she didnt know if she would be playing or not, adding she planned to visit with family and take some time off to rest.A reporter followed up by asking why she wouldnt play.Thats something I was going to decide after the tournament, Bouchard said. You know, my tournament ended like half an hour ago, so Im still going to talk to my team and make the best decision for me if I can play or not.It is a busy time for Bouchard, who is entered in an indoor tournnament the week after the Fed Cup in Belgium.ddddddddddddLapierre said she may be able to do both because she is the top-ranked player in the Belgian event and may not have to play a match there until later in the week. Plus the Fed Cup is also indoors and would be good practice.He added that Canadian Fed Cup captain Sylvain Bruneau is confident Bouchard will play.The Canadian roster includes Torontos Sharon Fichman (No. 135), 17-year-old prospect Francoise Abanda of Montreal (No. 202) and doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski of Ottawa (ranked No. 60 in doubles).The top-ranked Czechs will be represented by Karolina Pliskova (No. 20), Tereza Smitkova (No. 68), Denisa Allertova (No. 107), and Lucie Hradecka (No. 142).The Czechs have been crowned Fed Cup champions three of the last four years.Even without Petra Kvitova and Lucie Safarova, the Czech team is still very dangerous, Bruneau said in a statement. They chose to go with youth. Karolina Pliskova and Tereza Smitkova are two rising stars in womens tennis and they deserve all of our respect.Aleksandra Wozniak of Blainville, Que., was on the Canadian team last year but shes still recovering from shoulder surgery.Lapierre said that even without Bouchard, Canada has a chance against a Czech side lacking Fed Cup experience.Its always better to have your number one player, but that said, of the three named, two have played numerous Fed Cups, he said. For Francoise Abanda, it would be her first Fed Cup and its a tremendous opportunity for her to shine.She hasnt blossomed completely yet, but she has the talent, and playing in front of her crowd in Quebec City would be fantastic.The Czechs have a perfect 5-0 record against Canada in Fed Cup play. Their last meeting came in 2002.The winner will advance to the Fed Cup semifinals and keep a place in World Group I for 2016. The loser will play a World Group I playoff to remain among the top eight countries in the world. 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