Plauderwelten » erupted for 25 points and 20 rebounds as No. 2 Duke

PITTSBURGH -- When Pittsburgh Penguins coach Dan Bylsma shuffled the lines in search of a spark for his slumping offence, putting Evgeni Malkin and rookie Brian Gibbons on the ice together wasnt what he had in mind. Still, hell take it. Gibbons converted a slick backhand pass from Malkin for his first NHL goal at 3:56 of the third period, starting a late burst as the Penguins beat the weary Anaheim Ducks 3-1 on Monday night. Called up from the minors 12 hours before the opening faceoff, the 25-year-old Gibbons was thrown immediately onto Pittsburghs third line. He ended up on the ice with Malkin after the Penguins were caught in the middle of a shift change. While watching Malkin do a full lap through the Anaheim zone, Gibbons sprinted to the slot, took the pass and sent a shot over Viktor Fasths right shoulder to break a scoreless tie. "I was just trying to get to the net and bang home a rebound or something," Gibbons said. "Somehow it ended up right on my stick." Gibbons earned his first NHL assist 62 seconds later when Brandon Sutter deflected Olli Maattas shot from the point past Fasth. Anaheims Ryan Getzlaf quickly pulled the Ducks within one, but Sidney Crosbys 10th goal of the season capped a flurry in which the Penguins scored three times in just over four minutes. The outburst was a welcome development for a team that for all its considerable offensive talent has struggled to score recently. The Penguins came in riding a 1-4 slump, scoring just one goal in each of the four losses. "It was actaully a good game for us," Bylsma said. "We wanted to be in that tight game and stayed the course and came through with a couple of big goals." Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 26 shots for Pittsburgh as the Penguins leapfrogged Washington to move back into first in the Metropolitan Division. The teams will meet in the nations capital on Wednesday. Getzlafs fifth goal in four games provided all of the offence for the Pacific Divison-leading Ducks, who earned just one point during a four-game East Coast road trip. Fasth made 24 saves but struggled in the final 20 minutes. "Im not seeing any secondary scoring from anybody," Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau said. "When you dont have four lines contributing scoring its tough to win. I dont care how good the guys are, its tough to win." Anaheim totalled just six goals in four games during a swing through Florida, Tampa Bay, Carolina and Pittsburgh. "Weve been getting chances and stuff and weve been working hard, but like I said weve had sickness and injury throughout our team and we havent dealt with it well this trip," Getzlaf said. The Penguins have their own issues, particularly an offence that has looked spotty at best over the last three weeks. Bylsma decided to experiment. He moved Pascal Dupuis from the top line with Crosby to the second line with Malkin, replacing Dupuis with Beau Bennett. Jussi Jokinen, second on the team in goals, was bumped down to the third line to give Sutter a little help. The initial results were underwhelming. Then again, Anaheim had a little something to do with it. The Ducks, in the midst of their first rough patch following a brilliant start, dominated the first period. They clogged passing lanes, gave Pittsburghs talented forwards little room to freelance, and controlled play for long stretches. Pittsburgh didnt record a shot on Fasth until 2:02 left in the first period, when Bennett managed to redirect a pass from Crosby into Fasths chest. "Theyre a big team," Crosby said. "They got a long reach and they clog up the neutral zone pretty well." The arena roared in mock celebration, though for all of the Penguins offensive issues, the game remained scoreless thanks to Fleury. Starting for the 19th time in Pittsburghs 22 games, Fleury turned aside several early scoring chances, including a pair of opportunities by Getzlaf. The Penguins grew so frustrated at one point that Bylsma paired Malkin with Crosby and Chris Kunitz for a couple of shifts, looking to get something started It produced better flow but nothing that found its way by Fasth. Pittsburghs best chance came when Malkin skated behind the Anaheim net and deftly dropped the puck to a sprinting Kunitz, whose backhand shot banged off Fasth -- who wasnt looking because he thought Malkin still had the puck -- and then hit the crossbar before rolling out of danger. NOTES: Anaheim F Matt Beleskey returned to the lineup after missing 19 games with an upper body injury. ... The game was the 600th of Jokinens NHL career. ... The Ducks head home to face New Jersey on Wednesday. Anaheim is 8-0 at home. Don Larsen Astros Jersey . 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Veseli says "Manchester United has a long history of younger players coming through and hopefully I can follow and do the same.Durham, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - Jahlil Okafor erupted for 25 points and 20 rebounds as No. 2 Duke stayed unbeaten with a 75-62 win over Elon on Monday. Okafor, considered by many as the nations top freshman, shot 10-for-14 and posted career highs in both categories. He recorded the first 20-20 game by a freshman in Duke history and became the first Blue Devil to accomplish the feat since Elton Brand in 1998. Amile Jefferson scored 13 points and Justise Winslow had 12 for Duke (9-0), which extended the nations longeest home winning streak to 38 games.dddddddddddd Luke Eddy paced Elon (5-5) with 16 points. Final Score: (8) Gonzaga 94, Texas Southern 54 Spokane, WA (SportsNetwork.com) - Kyle Wiltjer scored 21 points to lead No. 8 Gonzaga in a 94-54 romp over Texas Southern. Domantas Sabonis had 16 points and six rebounds, while Silas Melson gave 13 for the Bulldogs (10-1), who have won three straight. Madarious Gibbs and Deverell Biggs each gave 12 points for the Tigers (1-8), who have lost their last three. ' ' '