NHL: Pittsburgh 7, New Jersey 1

PITTSBURGH, March 23 (UPI) -- Evgeni Malkin had two goals and an assist, and topped the 100-point mark, to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 7-1 win over New Jersey Saturday night.

The victory put the Penguins ahead of the Devils for first place in the Atlantic Division.

Ryan Malone scored two goals and Petr Sykora had a goal and two assists for the Penguins, who have won five of their last six games. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 24 shots for Pittsburgh, which has 93 points -- two more than New Jersey -- and is just one point behind Eastern Conference-leading Montreal.

With 102 points, Malkin is just four behind NHL points leader Alexander Ovechkin of Washington.

Brian Gionta scored and Martin Brodeur gave up four goals on 19 shots before being removed for Kevin Weekes in the third.

The Devils have lost three straight, but remain two points ahead of Ottawa for fourth place in the West.

Pittsburgh took a 2-1 lead into the third period and then went on a scoring spree -- starting with Malone's second goal of the night on the power-play three minutes into the period. Pascal Dupuis scored less than two minutes later, and then Malkin got his 100th point of the campaign on a power-play goal with 11:36 left in the game.