PENGUINS 8, JETS 4: James Neal scored a hat trick and Evgeni Malkin had his second five-point game against Winnipeg this season to power Pittsburgh to its eighth straight home win.

Sidney Crosby, playing at home for the first time since his comeback, collected four assists to give him nine helpers in four games and pull the Penguins within one point of the Eastern Conference-leading New York Rangers.

Tyler Kennedy had his first two-goal game in 13 months as Pittsburgh won for the 12th time in 13 games and beat Winnipeg for the 11th consecutive time.

Neal completed his second career hat trick late in the second period for a 6-4 lead and Malkin had two goals and three assists to raise his league-leading point total to 93. Malkin also reached 200 career goals with his first tally.

Rookie Brad Thiessen was the beneficiary of the offensive onslaught, turning aside 26 shots to improve to 3-0-0 in his career.

Bryan Little scored a pair of goals for the Jets, who remained four points behind eighth-place Washington for the final playoff spot in the East.

Malkin had a goal and four assists in an 8-5 win over Winnipeg on Feb. 11, and Tuesday's game was played at the same pace with the teams trading two goals apiece in the opening period.

Little's second goal tied it at 3-3 early in the second period, but the Penguins tacked on three more in the session to slowly pull away.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Crosby has 21 points in 12 games this season. ... Malkin reached 90 points for the third time in his career. ... Pascal Dupuis scored Pittsburgh's final goal to extend his points streak to eight games. ... Neal's first career hat trick came on Dec. 23, 2008, when he was with Dallas. ... Winnipeg C Nik Antropov did not accompany the team to Pittsburgh due to a lower-body injury. He had scored in each of the previous games and had five goals in his last eight.