EDMONTON, Alberta -- The Pittsburgh Penguins were nursing a one-goal lead over the Edmonton Oilers. Less than 20 seconds remained in Wednesday night's game. Sidney Crosby and Patric Hornqvist rushed down the ice, looking to put the insurance goal in the net that had been vacated by Oilers goalie Cam Talbot for the extra attacker.

They didn't finish the chance, and the Oilers surged back up the ice. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins ended up alone in front of the Penguins net, tried to slip the puck through the pads of Penguins goalie Matt Murray, but was denied.

Murray made 35 saves as the Penguins held on for a 3-2 victory over.

Crosby described the frantic final sequence.

"When you're going down, you don't really know how much time is left on the clock," Crosby said. "You're kind of hoping that it ticks down before they get back in our end. But, we just couldn't find a way to put it in and they've got time, they're quick, and they're waiting for that chance to come back the other way."

"I'm just trying to stay loose and I know they're going to throw a lot of pucks to the net and get a lot of bodies there, especially late when they're trying to tie it up," said Murray.

The Oilers (3-7-1) entered Wednesday's game with the second-worst penalty-killing record in the NHL. They are also the NHL's lowest-scoring team, gave up two power-play goals, and scored two goals or less for the eighth time in 11 games after Murray stopped Nugent-Hopkins.

"He's been showing it since the first day he's been here," Hornqvist said of Murray. "He's won two Cups for us. We know how good he is. That's maybe one of those areas we have to clean up. We played against a really good team with a lot of skill up front, but we have to clean up those grade-A scoring chances against. If we can do that, we're in really good shape."

Evgeni Malkin scored the winner, at 12:23 of the third period, on the man advantage.

The Penguins (8-5-1) went 2-for-4 on the power play, and the Oilers' penalty killing rate dipped from 70.3 percent to 68.3.

"The last one was the one that was disappointing," Oilers coach Todd McLellan. "We're in position and we have an opportunity to hold the line and don't. We give the lineup and then we get skated on the entry and that's a very preventable penalty kill situation for me. That is 100 percent preventable on just about every occasion and we didn't prevent it."

The Penguins earned at least a point for the 15th straight game against the Oilers.

"They've all been pretty entertaining games with them the last couple of years," Crosby said. "This one wasn't any different."

The Penguins broke through just 56 seconds into the second, with Hornqvist deflecting a point shot from Kris Letang past Talbot (27 saves).

The goal came on the Penguins' first power-play chance of the game.

But, on a power play of their own, the Oilers tied it at 6:36.

Patrick Maroon's backhand pass from behind the net went into the slot, and Nugent-Hopkins pounded it past Murray. It was Nugent Hopkins' 100th career NHL goal.

"This one is pretty hard to swallow right now," Nugent-Hopkins said. "We were right there the whole game. There wasn't much separating us. If anything, I thought we outplayed them a little bit."

Then, it was time for some Connor McDavid magic. The NHL's reigning Most Valuable Player cut across the slot, danced around Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta, then placed a backhanded pass back in the direction from which he came. Leon Draisaitl was wide open to put the against-the-grain pass into the net.

But Zack Kassian and Darnell Nurse took penalties just 18 seconds apart, giving the Penguins a lengthy two-man advantage.

Talbot, though, stole the show, stopping three Malkin blasts to highlight a penalty kill. And, after Talbot's final save on Malkin, the Oilers were able to clear the rebound to Kassian coming out of the box, putting him on a breakaway. Murray did the splits to deny Kassian and end a breathtaking sequence.

That was the Oilers' only penalty-killing highlight of the night.

The Penguins tied it with just 22 seconds left in the second. On a two-on-one, Crosby's pass was put home by Conor Sheary; the goal came right after the Oilers couldn't convert a three-on-one break.

NOTES: Penguins D Justin Schultz and D Matt Hunwick are both out with concussions; the team hopes they will be available later in the road trip. .... The Penguins also scratched LW Carl Hagelin and D Zach Trotman. ... The Oilers scratched LW Jujhar Khaira, LW Jussi Jokinen and D Eric Gryba. ... G Cam Talbot was named the Oilers Molson Cup winner for October; the winner is selected based on three-star selections during the month. ... Talbot remains frozen at 99 career NHL wins.