Pens Insider: Opportunities to protect leads helping Pens; Malkin's battle level; Bylsma comments on 71

The Penguins are clicking on all cylinders, defeating the New York Rangers 3-1 on Monday night, extending their winning streak to 7 games.

The Penguins are 9-0-1 in their last 10 games and they are playing an all-around team game, getting contributions from just about every where in their lineup.

What has stood out during their 9-0-1 run is their defensive play, most notably their ability to protect leads, which was a major problem through the first 5 weeks of the season.

The Penguins last regulation loss was on Nov. 10 against the Boston Bruins, a 7-4 loss that included 5 unanswered goals by the Bruins in the third period.

I spoke to defenseman Paul Martin, the day after the Penguins epic collapse against Boston, and Martin pointed to the Penguins falling behind early as a reason for their struggles at the time for when they did take a lead in a particular game.

"Part of that is I think we haven't been in that position {protecting leads} much this year, " Martin said on Nov. 11. "We've been coming from behind, getting down early and coming back."

It was only fitting after tonight's game that Sidney Crosby referenced "not falling behind" as a reason for the Penguins improved play defensively.