Pittsburgh, PA -- (Sports Network) - Mark Recchi had a goal and two assists while Marc-Andre Fleury turned aside 25 shots as Pittsburgh downed Nashville, 4-1, at Mellon Arena.

Jordan Staal, Evgeni Malkin and Jarkko Ruutu each had a goal for the Penguins, who have won nine of their last 11 games.

Fleury, who made 14 saves in the second period, improved to 25-12-7 on the year.

Scott Nichol tallied the lone goal for the Predators, who have dropped three of four. Chris Mason stopped 22 of the 25 shots he faced.

"We took too many penalties," said Nashville head coach Barry Trotz. "We had six through the first two periods, and not only does that expend a lot of energy on your bench, but it doesn'tallow everybody to get into the game."

Nashville took a 1-0 lead when Nichol tallied with a tip-in with 2:07 left in the first period. From the right point, Sheldon Brookbank fired the puck, which deflected off Nichol's stick and past Fleury's glove side.

The Penguins followed up with four unanswered goals en route to victory.

Staal tied the game for Pittsburgh 5:46 into the second when he took a feed from Sidney Crosby and lifted the puck over the stick side of Mason. The 19- year-old Crosby, who finished with two assists, now has 25 goals and 61 helpers for 86 points in 50 games.

Less than three minutes later, the Penguins went up 2-1 on Malkin's 19-foot power-play snap shot. Recchi setup the goal with a cross-ice pass to Malkin at the left side.

Just 3:10 into the third, Recchi scored with a wrister from the right circle, and the Penguins had a two-goal lead on the Western Conference's top team.

"A little cushion on a team like that is important," Recchi said. "I think the guys were really committed in the third period. You could tell we were a fresh team, and ready to play today."

The Predators pulled Mason with under two minutes remaining in regulation, but it didn't help as Ruutu added an empty netter with 1:24 left to account for the final margin.

Game Notes

Pittsburgh ended 1-for-7 on the power play while Nashville failed to convert on four chances...Attendance was 16,333.