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. Discount Shoes Online . The Pope greeted Klose at his general audience Wednesday and the pair had a long chat. Klose is German like the pope, although he was born in Poland. In Sundays derby, Lazio took the lead in the seventh minute after Maarten Stekelenburg brought down Klose, resulting in the Roma goalkeeper being sent off and a penalty that Hernanes converted. Wholesale Shoes China . -- Theres been so much talk about Mike Moustakas at the plate that the third baseman ignored the conversation Wednesday -- even after doing something positive. http://www.wholesaleshoesfromchina.com/.Y. - Rob Manfred was promoted Monday to Major League Baseballs chief operating officer, which may make him a candidate to succeed Bud Selig as commissioner. Wholesale Shoes From China . On Saturday, the paths of Drew Tate and Kevin Glenn cross again as opposing quarterbacks. Cheap Shoes From China . Its not intended to be some magical formula and doesnt apply any context, like, for example, taking injuries into account. This remedial statistical method has gone 9-5 in picks through the first three rounds. CLEVELAND -- The Browns added flexibility and playoff experience to their offensive line. The club agreed to a contract Monday with free agent Paul McQuistan, who started 14 games last season for the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. Terms of the deal were not immediately available. McQuistan, who was in Cleveland for a visit last week, was previously with the Browns as a backup in 2010. The 30-year-old lineman may slide into the open spot at right guard after the Browns lost starter Shawn Lauvao in free agency to Washington. The 6-foot-6, 315-pound McQuistan played nine games at left tackle and five at left guard for Seattle last season. "He has versatility," Browns general manager Ray Farmer said at the NFL owners meetings in Orlando, Fla. "The guy played a lot of tackle last year. Hes played guard. The versatility is definitely intriguing and positive for us and it can make our minds rest easy in a lot of respects where he can possibly contribute. So that versatility is what were moore focused on than any one specific spot saying hes going to be this.dddddddddddd" McQuistan has played eight seasons in the NFL since being drafted in the third round by Oakland in 2006. McQuistan has made 52 starts and played left tackle, left guard and right guard. He appeared in 35 games with the Raiders from 2006-09. He has also been with Jacksonville. He signed with Seattle in 2011 and appeared in 48 games over three seasons, making 40 starts. Hes the seventh free agent signed by the Browns, who have also shown interest in Buffalo defensive end Alex Carrington. He previously played under new Browns coach Mike Pettine and visited with Cleveland last week. The Browns may still be in the market for a veteran quarterback after releasing Brandon Weeden and Jason Campbell this month. Cleveland is also awaiting the next move with free-agent centre Alex Mack. The team placed their transition tag on the Pro Bowler, who has yet to sign the one-year, $10.039 million contract. ' ' '