PITTSBURGH -- The scoring is coming from all sectors, and that makes the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins feel like themselves.

"We're back. We're hungry," center Evgeni Malkin said Saturday night after he was one of five Penguins to score in a 5-1 win over the struggling Buffalo Sabres at PPG Paints Arena.

"We played with so much speed. We're using our speed, blocking shots. It's our game. We feel like every game is better and better."

Carl Hagelin, Patric Hornqvist, Phil Kessel and Sidney Crosby also scored for Pittsburgh (15-10-3), which has 19 goals during a four-game winning streak. Malkin, Hornqvist and Crosby also each added an assist, and Kris Letang had two assists.

The Penguins' winning streak has come on the heels of a three-game losing streak and stretches where a lack of scoring, particularly at even strength, was a problem.

"All four lines are going, and all three (defensive) pairs are going, and we have a hot goaltender," Hornqvist said. "Before, there was one line at a time who had a good game for us. Now we're all playing for each other and playing really well. It turned us around."

Pittsburgh has a 15-game point streak (14-0-1) and eight-game home win streak against Buffalo, which last beat the Penguins on April 23, 2013.

The Sabres (6-17-4), who lost their fourth straight game, ended a goal drought of 230:33 when Jason Pominville scored in the third period.

The goal was not nearly enough as the sweep in the home-and-home set with Pittsburgh left them with a 1-9-2 record in their past 12. Buffalo had been shut out in its previous three games.

Coach Phil Housley still found some things to like.

"They played with a lot of emotion," he said. "The bottom line is winning, but I felt that we did have a better effort -- but here we sit and we lost 5-1."

Pittsburgh rookie goaltender Tristan Jarry, playing on consecutive nights, stopped 32 shots for his fourth consecutive win, while Buffalo's Chad Johnson made 24 saves.

"I was exciting to get the challenge," Jarry said of playing in back-to-back games while he fills in for injured No. 1 goalie Matt Murray. "It's not something that happens too often at the NHL level. They wanted to see if I could do it, and I was up to the challenge."

Pittsburgh couldn't get much going on three power plays in the first -- with a total of two shots -- but got an even-strength goal at 18:44 for a 1-0 lead.

Malkin, on a two-on-one with Kessel, kept the puck and flipped it over sprawling Sabres defenseman Marco Scandella and past Johnson.

Hagelin pumped his fists in apparent relief when he scored just his second goal of the season and first since Oct. 17, a 19-game drought, for a 2-0 Pittsburgh lead. He patiently dragged the puck across the top of the crease before lifting it over Johnson's right pad from a sharp angle.

"The last three or four weeks, I've had enough chances to score a couple goals," Hagelin said. "It was nice to see that one go in."

The Penguins' power play got on track late in the second, when a pass from Crosby glanced in off Hornqvist with one minute left in the period to make it 3-0.

That and a later assist gave Hornqvist 10 goals, a five-game point streak and 10 points in nine games. The assist extended Crosby's point streak to six games.

Pominville converted a pass from behind the net by Jack Eichel to pull Buffalo within 3-1 at 11:18 of the third, the Sabres' first goal since Kyle Okposo scored with 51 seconds remaining in regulation on Nov. 24.

"I guess that's one burden off our shoulders," Eichel said of getting a goal.

Housley thought it went further than that.

"You go three games without scoring, it's difficult," Housley said. "You're squeezing your sticks. It's very hard mentally. It can be tough. But it was good to see that one go in. It got us right back in the game."

Not for long.

Kessel scored one of his signature goals -- from the right circle off the rush -- to make it 4-1 at 13:14 of the third. He is tied with Crosby and Jake Guentzel for the team lead with 12 goals.

Crosby added an empty-netter with 1:02 remaining.

"When this team has sustained success, we get contributions like that throughout our lineup," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "It's hard to rely on a few guys to score goals. When you get those contributions it certainly helps."

NOTES: Buffalo recalled RW Hudson Fasching from Rochester of the American Hockey League. He replaced LW Matt Moulson in the lineup. ... Buffalo D Josh Gorges replaced D Victor Antipin in the lineup. ... Sabres D Marco Scandella played in his 400th NHL game. ... The game kicked off a season-high five-game homestand for the Penguins. ... Neither club held a morning skate.