PITTSBURGH — Evgeni Malkin scored his first goal of the exhibition season to help the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 on Saturday night.

Malkin deflected a puck past Columbus goalie Steve Mason at 2:47 of the third period to give Pittsburgh its first lead. Arron Asham and Pascal Dupuis also scored for Pittsburgh (3-0).

The Penguins paired star centers Sidney Crosby and Malkin on the same top line for most of the game. Malkin, a center in his previous four NHL seasons, worked the right wing.

Marc-Andre Fleury finished with 32 saves, and Mason stopped 25 shots.