EDMONTON, Alberta _ Five-on-five goals remain somewhat elusive for the Penguins.
Who cares? Worry about that later.
The way their power play is humming along, it's buying their five-on-five play some time to figure it out.
Evgeni Malkin and Patric Hornqvist scored power-play goals _ Malkin's the game-winner coming midway through the third period _ as the Penguins slipped past the Edmonton Oilers, 3-2, on Wednesday at Rogers Place.
Coming off a 7-1 drubbing in Winnipeg on Sunday, the Penguins (8-5-1) needed a victory to keep this season-long five-game road trip from going sour.
They needed a win to keep from losing six of their first nine road games for the first time since Sidney Crosby's rookie year. They needed a win to celebrate something.
Malkin's snapper off the rush, from the inner-edge of the left circle at 12:23 of the third period _ his fifth goal in his last five games against Edmonton _ provided that. Matt Murray's acrobatics, especially late, made it hold up.
In addition to the power play, Murray delivered a stellar performance in goal _ he made a pair of clutch stops with his right leg _ and the Penguins played a much more responsible game, one good enough to sweep the season series with the Oilers.
Connor McDavid and Crosby traded spectacular setups, but yet again McDavid came up short in the team aspect of this rivalry; Crosby's Penguins are 4-0 against McDavid's Oilers.
The Penguins played with a little bit of fire in the third period. Olli Maatta and Jake Guentzel took tripping penalties, but the Penguins held the fort. They cashed just 19 seconds after Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was called for interference.
For as much as the Penguins have struggled on the road _ they had lost five of eight before Wednesday _ the one constant has been their power play. They've scored man-advantage goals in all nine road games they've played.
Just 56 seconds into the second period, Hornqvist called for a Kris Letang point shot and got his stick on the puck for a 1-0 Penguins lead.
The Oilers answered with a power-play goal of their own _ just the fifth of the season for them _ at 6:36 of the second period, with Guentzel in the box for a pair of minor penalties.
Nugent-Hopkins finishing a fortuitous bounce off the end boards with 8 seconds left on the kill, negating a bunch of good work done by the Penguins.
Leon Draisaitl extended Edmonton's lead to 2-1 at 7:26 of the second period when he took advantage of a tremendous play by McDavid.
McDavid slid a puck between Maatta's skates, then threw a backhanded pass past Letang _ who aggressively pursued the puck, maybe a little too much _ giving Draisaitl an easy tap-in.
McDavid has factored into seven of the Oilers' previous eight goals against the Penguins.
The Penguins were unable to convert a five-on-three opportunity that came about when Darnell Nurse was called for slashing midway through the period.
Cam Talbot turned aside all five shots the Penguins fired at him _ including a couple of Grade A chances from Malkin and Hornqvist _ while Zack Kassian nearly made the Penguins pay for losing track of his exit from the penalty box.
With Kassian all alone on a breakaway, Murray made a key stop with his right toe to keep the Oilers lead at 2-1.
Crosby equaled McDavid's ridiculous setup with one of his own late in the second period. A certain feel was evident between Crosby and Sheary early in this game, and they got rewarded at 19:38.
With the pair on a two-on-one break, Crosby slid a perfect pass to Sheary for his team-high sixth goal of the season.
First periods had been a significant issue for the Penguins thus far this season, especially on the road. They came into this one having allowed 21 first-period goals, 18 of them coming away from PPG Paints Arena.
"It seems like we're not ready," Tom Kuhnhackl said at Wednesday's morning skate. "The last couple games, we clearly weren't ready. "
Any first-period foibles, however, did not come to fruition.
The Penguins were invested early and got the start they wanted. Although the teams played to a scoreless tie during the first 20 minutes, the Penguins held the Oilers to four attempted shots in the first 9:30.
Bryan Rust nearly picked up the Penguins' first goal when he took a nifty pass from Kuhnhackl and rang a shot off the post at 8:18. A replay review determined that the puck did not cross the goal line.
Crosby and Sheary had their first prime opportunity in the opening period, a one-time chance for Sheary from the bottom of the right circle. When Cam Talbot made the stop, all Sheary could do was look up to the rafters in frustration.
The opportunity alone represented something of a change for Sheary, who had not registered a shot on goal in his previous eight periods of regulation play.
The win helped the Penguins extend their dominance over the Oilers to 15 consecutive games where they've earned at least one point (12-0-3).
Murray still has not suffered back-to-back-to-back regulation losses in the regular season, while the Penguins are 6-0-2 in their last eight visits to Edmonton, winners of four in a row.
Coming off a 7-1 loss in Winnipeg on Sunday, the Penguins have won 10 of their past 11 _ including seven straight _ the game after allowing seven or more goals.
