PITTSBURGH - After weeks of not being able to get started, there was no stopping the Pittsburgh Penguins - especially Evgeni Malkin, who looked determined to halt a losing streak all by himself.

Malkin scored twice, right winger Phil Kessel ended a scoring slump with two goals and the Sidney Crosby-less Pittsburgh Penguins halted a five-game losing streak, beating the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-2 Monday night for their first win under new coach Mike Sullivan.

Malkin started a four-goal second period with a goal, then added his fifth goal in six games by scoring into an empty net during the final two minutes. Rookie goaltender Matt Martin stopped 22 shots for his first NHL win as the Penguins won for only the second time in nine games.

"I didn't have to be spectacular to win the game. I think I was there when I was needed to be." Martin said. "It's exciting to get my first win out of the way."

After watching Malkin be the dominant player on the ice for most of the game, Sullivan felt the same way about his first win.

"Obviously it's a relief. Everyone here wants to win. When go through a slide, everyone squeezes their stick a little hard," Sullivan said.

Both Sullivan and Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella called Malkin - who appeared to be playing with considerable determination with Crosby out - the best player on the ice.

"I thought he was a force. ... He's hard to handle when he's on the ice. He's the type of player who is a difference maker, and he was tonight," said Sullivan, a longtime assistant coach under Tortorella with three NHL teams.

"Oh, he's a good player," Tortorella said of the former NHL scoring champion. "He took control of the game."

Crosby, the Penguins' captain, missed his first game of the season with a lower-body injury, yet Pittsburgh still scored one more goal than it did in Sullivan's first four games combined. The Penguins' only other five-goal game was Dec. 1 against San Jose, when Kessel also had two goals.

Martin, the Penguins' No. 3 goaltender playing in only his second career NHL game, allowed goals by center Alexander Wennberg and center Boone Jenner but bested Columbus goaltender Joonas Korpisalo (30 saves), who gained his first NHL win on Saturday.

Center Nick Bonino and left winger David Perron had two assists apiece for Pittsburgh.

The Penguins fell behind 1-0 on Wennberg's goal created by defenseman Fedor Tyutin's deftly executed pass off the end boards early in the game, but got a lift later in the first period by killing off a Blue Jackets 5-on-3 that lasted 1:24.

"It was a lousy 5-on-3, and I thought out whole game changed from there," Tortorella said.

Pittsburgh tied it on a power play when Malkin - who played as the top line center with Crosby out -beat Tyutin off the half-wall, went to the net and put in a David Perron rebound 3:06 into the second.

Kessel was held without a goal in the previous eight games, but he quickly changed that with a pair of goals in less than 12 minutes to make it 3-1.

"I haven't scored in a while, so it was nice to get one. ... I was fortunate a couple went in," Kessel said.

The Penguins got a scare during the second when Malkin dropped to the ice in pain following a knee-to-knee hit with Jenner, who was called for tripping. But Malkin returned shortly thereafter, and he added an empty-net goal - his 17th overall - with 1:29 remaining in the game.

Defenseman David Warsofsky also scored for Pittsburgh, his second in the NHL.

NOTES: Penguins C Sidney Crosby (lower body injury) sat out his first game of the season, but isn't expected to be sidelined long, according to coach Mike Sullivan. Crosby is a career-low minus-6. ... The Blue Jackets also were without captain and LW Nick Foligno (undisclosed injury). ... RW Rene Bourque, who came off the injured reserve list Saturday, took Foligno's place on a line with C Ryan Johansen and LW Boone Jenner. ... Blue Jackets D Jack Johnson returned after missing two games with an upper-body injury and was paired with D Ryan Murray. ... Joonas Korpisalo was in net again for Columbus after gaining his first NHL win Saturday, against the Philadelphia Flyers in a shootout. Penguins G Marc-Andre Fleury (concussion) missed a fourth consecutive game. ... Sullivan, who took over the Penguins last week, spent seven seasons on Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella's staff with the Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks. ... Columbus scratched RW Jared Boll, D Kevin Connauton and Foligno. The Penguins held out D Adam Clendening, RW Bryan Rust and Crosby.