PITTSBURGH -- A seemingly minor tweak by Pittsburgh coach Mike Johnston made a major difference as the Penguins scored their first two power-play goals of the season -- and in a game they badly needed both.

Center Evgeni Malkin scored a power-play goal 1:21 into overtime, center Sidney Crosby scored his first goal of the season and the Penguins wasted a two-goal lead before beating the Florida Panthers 3-2 Tuesday night.

Malkin powered a shot past Florida goalie Roberto Luongo with the teams skating 4-on-3 in the extra frame for his third goal and Pittsburgh's third straight victory -- and it was the previously missing power play that accomplished it. It was Malkin's eighth career regular-season overtime goal.

After the Penguins went 0-for-17 on the power play in their first five games, Johnston put right winger Phil Kessel in the high slot rather than the left circle, with Malkin on the left half wall and Crosby on the right half wall.

Johnston was pleased that the adjustment seemed to create some confusion about which player would be where.

"All three are interchangeable ... (but) I thought we had a different look with Geno over on the side. I liked the look," Johnston said.

And the production.

The Penguins scored multiple power-play goals for only the third time in 41 regular-season games, with the last time coming March 28. And Crosby, who went the first five games without a point for the first time in his career, had a three-point night with two assists, and new linemate Kessel added his second goal with Pittsburgh.

Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 31 shots for his third straight victory.

With Panthers center Nick Bjugstad off for hooking midway through the first period, Crosby finished off a quick-moving sequence of passes by taking Malkin's cross-ice pass to the right circle and wristing it past Luongo (32 saves).

Johnston felt Crosby wasn't shooting enough -- he had only six shots in the first three games -- but Crosby matched a career high with nine shots.

"Hopefully I can build off this," Crosby said. "I thought we generated good chances all night. It's good to see that first one go in."

That 1-0 lead held up until early in the third, when Panthers right winger Reilly Smith's apparent redirection goal of defenseman Brian Campbell's slap shot from along the left-wing boards was waved off because Smith's stick was above the crossbar.

"The only issue was they called it a good goal on the ice, then they switched it to a not-good goal (before going to video review)," Campbell said. "That made it a tougher chance to get it. That's what really upsets us, when they call it a good goal and then change their minds."

Panthers coach Gerard Gallant was clearly unhappy with the call. And he was even more displeased when Kessel scored just over two minutes later, at 3:17, by steering a deflected shot past Luongo.

But the Panthers, who couldn't hold a 2-0 lead during a 4-2 loss Saturday against Dallas, came back from a 2-0 deficit this time on third-period goals less than three minutes apart by fourth-liners Quinton Howden and Derek MacKenzie.

Howden, the right winger, scored at 11:04, then assisted on center MacKenzie's goal -- it was the first of the season for both -- at 13:57. Left winger Connor Brickley assisted on both.

"That line was impressive, got some scrappy goals, and that was the only line that was plugging way as far as burying (the puck)," Bjugstad said.

"I thought we were guilty of sitting back a little bit (in the third)," Crosby said.

Ageless Panthers right winger Jaromir Jagr couldn't score after getting four goals in the first five games and remains without a goal in Pittsburgh since 2011.

Jagr is now on his eighth NHL club since breaking in with the Penguins' Stanley Cup-winning team in 1990-91. Since the 43-year-old Jagr debuted 25 years ago, the Penguins have gone through 389 players -- 360 skaters and 29 goaltenders.

Jagr hasn't played for the Penguins in 15 years, or since the 2000-01 season, yet he easily remains their leading scorer over the last quarter-century with 1,079 points in a Pittsburgh uniform. Mario Lemieux is second with 885 points.

NOTES: The Penguins won 14 of their last 16 home games against Florida. ... C Connor Brinkley returned to the Florida Panthers' fourth line, replacing LW Shawn Thornton. ... This was the Panthers' only regular-season game in Pittsburgh in 2015-16. ... Florida scratched Thornton, D Steven Kampfer and D Dylan Olsen. ... RW Daniel Sprong, 18, missed the game while being held up in Canada attending to visa issues. The second Dutch-born player in NHL history moved to Canada at age 7. Bryan Rust moved up to the third line to replace him. ... Pittsburgh held out Sprong, D Tim Erixon and D Adam Clendening. ... The Penguins complete a season-long, five-game homestand Thursday against Dallas, which beat Pittsburgh 3-0 in a season opener on Oct. 8.