PITTSBURGH -- Sidney Crosby joked that he wished the pass from Kris Letang that set up Pittsburgh's winning goal Saturday night wouldn't have come in high so he wouldn't have had to bat it out of the air.

"I was hoping he was going to leave it on the ice, but he lifted it," Crosby said while grinning after the Penguins' 4-3 victory over the Florida Panthers at PPG Paints Arena.

Letang responded that he was on his backhand from high in the right circle, so he thought lifting the puck would produce the best results.

"I'm not that strong on my backhand, so I thought just by floating it, it gives him a better chance to beat the goalie," Letang said. "On the ice, with a soft backhand I didn't think he would be able to do much except stop it and find another player. By just floating it, just a better chance for a tip.

"His hand-eye is outstanding, one of the top in the league."

Crosby, flashing his expert stick control, swung and put a strong change-of-direction whack on the puck from near the left post, and it bounced in off Panthers goaltender James Reimer for a 4-2 lead at 1:59 of the third period that held up.

It was Crosby's second goal of the game. His first came on a more routine deflection, also from near the left post.

Pittsburgh (3-2-1) also got goals from Patric Hornqvist and Greg McKegg to improve to 8-0-2 in its past 10 games against Florida, with five wins in a row at home.

Goaltender Matt Murray made 43 saves to improve to 3-0-1 for the Penguins.

Jonathan Huberedau scored twice, Aaron Ekblad also had a goal and Evgenii Dadonov contributed two assists for the Panthers (2-2-0).

Florida's James Reimer (1-1-0) stopped 29 shots as the teams combined for 79 shots in a fast-paced game.

"For whatever reason, I didn't think it was a track meet," Murray said. "I guess there were a lot of shots both ways, but I didn't feel like they had a really high amount of grade-A chances."

The Penguins, Florida coach Bob Boughner said, did a better job with their chances.

"It doesn't take a lot for them to capitalize, and I thought we opened it up a little too much at times," he said.

The Penguins' power play got the only goal of the first.

Phil Kessel, from the left circle, got a pass through to Crosby, stationed at the left post. Crosby deflected to puck over Reimer's pad for a 1-0 lead at 6:46.

Florida tied it at 5:25 of the second when Huberdeau extended his point streak to four games. He whipped a shot from the low slot inside the left post after Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin whiffed on an attempt to break up a pass from Dadonov.

Pittsburgh regained the lead on McKegg's first career short-handed goal at 6:40 of the second.

Fellow penalty-killer Tom Kuhnhackl picked up the puck in the neutral zone and stormed down the slot but was covered tightly by Keith Yandle. Kuhnhackl shoveled the puck back for McKegg to finish off for his first goal in a Pittsburgh uniform, against his former club.

Huberdeau's second goal, on a rebound during a power play at 8:30 of the second period, pulled the Panthers even at 2-2.

Hornqvist kept the back-and-forth scoring going and gave the Penguins a 3-2 lead when he got several whacks at a rebound at 13:36 of the second. Olli Maatta's assist gave him a four-game point streak.

"I think we did a good job in the second and even in the third and right up until the end," Florida's Mark Pysyk said. "I think we had a lot of chances."

Crosby's deciding goal moved him into a tie for the team lead with eight points. He has at least one point in five of Pittsburgh's six games.

"I think he's the best in the game in and around that net, in close, just as far as getting his stick on shots coming in, pulling the puck out of people's feet and having the skill to be able to get pucks over goaltenders," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said.

"He's just so good in that area. A lot of it speaks to his skill level, but it's also his determination. He's in the battle areas all the time."

Ekblad made it a one-goal game again at 6:18 when he ripped a shot from the top of the right circle that sailed over Murray's shoulder and under the crossbar. It was his 100th career point.

NOTES: Florida C Colton Sceviour left with 2:05 left in regulation after taking a hit from Pittsburgh RW Patric Hornqvist. There was no penalty. ... Pittsburgh G Matt Murray got his 44th career victory, tying him with GM Jim Rutherford for 10th in franchise history. ... Pittsburgh D Ian Cole skated solo before the team's game-day skate. He is on injured reserve after a blocked shot knocked out some of his teeth. ... Pittsburgh scratched LW Scott Wilson, RW Josh Archibald and D Chris Summers. Florida scratched RW Owen Tippett and D MacKenzie Weegar.