Pittsburgh Penguins' Evgeni Malkin (71), of Russia, skates past a Phoenix Coyote defender during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh on Monday, Dec. 20, 2010. The Penguins won 6-1. Malkin tied a career high with five points.

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Penguins finished up a 12-game winning streak only last week, yet they might be a better team now than they were then.

Evgeni Malkin is making them better.

Malkin is finally showing off the flashy game that was missing most of the season, with five goals and three assists in three games. Accompanying those goals was the razzle dazzle that helped make the Russian-born Malkin the NHL’s leading scorer and playoffs MVP two seasons ago.

Malkin, admittedly slowed by a left knee injury that forced him to wear a thin brace, was almost a non-factor during the second-longest winning streak in Penguins history. He scored goals in only six of their first 31 games, a replay of his disappointing post-Stanley Cup season a year ago.

Since Malkin took four games off to rest the knee, he again resembles the player who was once considered to be Crosby’s near-equal.

Malkin had two goals and three assists in the first two periods of Pittsburgh’s 6-1 victory over Phoenix on Monday night, reminding the Penguins what they’ve been missing even as they’ve compete with division rival Philadelphia for the NHL’s best record.

“I was just trying to keep up with him,” said Crosby, who had a goal and an assist against the Coyotes yet wasn’t the best player on the ice.

“For Sidney Crosby to shake his head a little bit and say, ‘Wow,’ is a unique thing,” coach Dan Bylsma said.

Resting Malkin for 12 days might have been exactly what was needed to get him back on his game. He had both Penguins goals during a streak-ending 3-2 loss in Philadelphia on Dec. 14, then scored again a night later against the Rangers. Then, after the Penguins enjoyed a rare four-day break, he matched his career high with his 5-point night against Phoenix.

“It’s close to 100 percent because it’s not painful now,” Malkin said of the sore knee.

Not exactly what Pittsburgh’s opponents wanted to hear with Crosby already playing at peak level, with a league-high 57 points and 27 goals in 34 games. Malkin has 13 goals and 30 points in 29 games, ranking him only 29th among all scorers going into Tuesday night’s games.

“You could see that the injury was bothering him,” Penguins defenseman Kris Letang said.

Worn down by the short offseasons that followed Pittsburgh playoff runs, Malkin’s drop-off in performance began last season.