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Updated 17 hours ago

DENVER — Ever since Evgeni Malkin went down with a lower-body injury six games ago, Patric Hornqvist has been all over the lineup card.

He's gone from second line to first line to third line, with centers ranging from Sidney Crosby to Carter Rowney.

On the ice, though, his teammates always know where he's going to be.

At the front of the net.

Phil Kessel and Justin Schultz both found Hornqvist with passes just outside the blue paint in the second period, leading to a pair of goals that catapulted the Penguins to a 4-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche.

“I think I'm pretty easy to play with,” Hornqvist said. “If I don't have a play, I'm probably going to chip it in and go after it. And I like to hang out at the front of the net.”

The Penguins improved to 4-0-1 in their last five games overall and 4-1-0 in their last five on the road. They moved a point ahead of Columbus in the race for second place in the Metropolitan Division.

Crosby was on the ice for both of Hornqvist's goals, but he didn't figure in on the scoring. He has 998 career points and will take his next crack at 1,000 Saturday night in Arizona.

In general, he didn't think much of the game the Penguins played.

“We were fortunate tonight,” Crosby said. “(Matt Murray) made some saves, and we capitalized on our chances. Not the kind of game we want to get into playing.”

His coach agreed, in even more forceful terms, galled by the time and space the Penguins gave the Avalanche, especially early in the game.

“Certainly we're happy with the result, but that's probably where it ends,” Sullivan said. “We can't play a loose game like that and expect to win consistently in this league.”

The Penguins survived thanks to goaltending and timely scoring.

In net, Murray made 27 saves in one of his finest performances of the season. He especially frustrated Colorado leading scorer Nathan MacKinnon, who hit two posts and was around the net constantly.

Murray had to make saves on every type of scoring chance imaginable, from shots that changed direction at the last second to slow-developing odd-man rushes.

“They got chances off the rush, on the power play, in zone going low to high with point shots and deflections,” said Murray, who recorded his 20th win of the season. “They threw a good variety of pucks on net. We knew that coming in, though.”

The timely goal scoring came mostly from Hornqvist.

Kessel finished off a two-on-one with Matt Cullen in the first period before Hornqvist struck twice in the second.

His first goal came on the power play. Schultz threw a pass into the left-wing corner, and Kessel centered the airborne puck to Hornqvist at the left post for a goal.

His second goal came in the final two minutes of the period. Schultz stopped a Colorado clearing attempt at the right point and passed to Hornqvist at the top of the crease. He slipped a backhand past goalie Calvin Pickard to make it 3-0 heading into the third.

“It's great that he got rewarded tonight because he pays a price,” Sullivan said. “He pays a price to go to those areas, and he's willing to do it. He never gets deterred. He just gets back in the battle. He gets knocked around a lot, but he almost just embraces it.”

Bryan Rust left the game in the second period, favoring his right arm after a vicious collision with Pickard as he drove to the net. Sullivan said he had no update on Rust's condition immediately after the game.

“Hopefully it won't be too bad,” Sullivan said.

Jonathan Bombulie is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at jbombulie@tribweb.com or via Twitter at @BombulieTrib.

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