Evgeni Malkin and Rickard Rakell had a spat on Monday morning.

“First time he passed to me!” Malkin bellowed.

“Yeah, it was nice that he drove the net,” Rakell retorted.

“Not drove,” Malkin claimed. “Flying!”

Rakell was asked by a reporter about how he set up Malkin for a power-play goal during a 5-2 home loss to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday. Malkin, sitting in the neighboring stall of the home dressing room at PPG Paints Arena, interjected with his perspective on the matter and a jovial back-and-forth between the occasional linemates unfolded.

The assist came off an impressive pass by Rakell. He followed that up with a secondary assist on a goal by current linemate Jake Guentzel during a 4-2 home loss to the New York Islanders on Monday, extending a scoring streak to a modest four games.

A quartet of contests with at least a point is hardly significant. But seven points (three goals, four assists) in four contests is.

After collecting a goal and two assists in a 3-1 road win against the San Jose Sharks on Feb. 14, Rakell was the Penguins’ top offensive catalyst in a 5-4 road loss to the New York Islanders on Friday with two goals.

Rakell suggested his surge is a simple matter of going to the net more consistently.

“I’m just trying to play hard, just trying to find pucks in front of the other team’s net,” Rakell said. “Trying to create some more shot attempts for myself and my linemates. When we have a chance, want to put more pucks to the net and attack the net more. Before, maybe I’ve been playing a little bit too much on the outside and just waiting for (opponents) to make mistakes instead of trying to make them make mistakes.”

In Friday’s defeat, Rakell’s first goal came on an impressive give-and-go sequence with Guentzel early in the second period.

After Rakell offloaded the puck in the neutral zone, Guentzel gained the offensive zone on the left wing and dished a pass down the slot. Surging between Islanders defensemen Scott Mayfield and Alexander Romanov, Rakell deflected the puck past goaltender Ilya Sorokin’s blocker for his 20th goal of the season.

“That play in particular is just instinctual,” Rakell said. “You try to pull guys going with you to the net. If I’m not open, something may open up behind me instead of always going for the drop pass playing on the outside. Jake made a terrific play. Obviously, it’s something that we want to bring more into our game, create more things off the rush. With that said, play with instincts but have the mindset to try to beat someone (at the net).”

Guentzel concurs.

“That’s just the kind of game that he likes to play,” Guentzel said. “That’s what I like to do too. A lot of give-and-gos. As a line, that’s kind of what we do.”

That line includes a center by the name of Sidney Crosby who has been known to register a point or two by playing low in the offensive zone.

“(Rakell) has done a real good job of supporting the play down low with Sid and Jake,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “That’s an area where those two guys thrive, down below the goal line, underneath the hashmarks. Those two guys have the ability to create offense better than anyone in the league, in my opinion, from that area of the rink.

“(Rakell) has really done a better job in understanding that game and supporting that game with those other two guys. The fact that he’s getting inside, going to the net, he’s scoring goals different ways. That’s what that line is capable of. He brings a skill element to that line and an ability to create something out of nothing because of his talent level.

“You think the play is dead in the corner or on the half wall, wherever it may be, and all of a sudden, he finds a way to come out of it with the puck. That’s the unique attribute that he brings to that line when he plays with those guys. But I also think he’s learning and getting better at understanding the game that Sid and Jake like to play.”

Note: The Penguins canceled a scheduled practice Tuesday.

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