SUNRISE, Fla. -- Play like champions.

With apologies to the Notre Dame and Oklahoma football programs, that's what the Pittsburgh Penguins are doing as the reigning Stanley Cup champions.

And that's what Penguins center and future Hall of Famer Sidney Cosby is doing, too.

Crosby scored a goal and added an assist to lead Pittsburgh to a 5-1 victory over the Florida Panthers on Thursday night at the BB&T Center.

The Penguins entered the game leading the NHL in shots per game and ranked second in goals, and lived up to their billing as an offensive machine.

Pittsburgh raced to a 3-0 lead with less than eight minutes expired in the first period, and it happened on only five shots on goal.

"It was weird how that worked out," Crosby said. "We didn't have that many shots, but we had a few goals right off the bat."

The Penguins (17-7-3) won their fourth straight game and scored 24 goals during that span.

The Panthers (12-12-4) haven't won a game in regulation since Nov. 19.

Florida's Tom Rowe, who moved from general manager to coach one-game into a six-contest road trip, made his home debut in losing fashion. Rowe, who is 1-2-3 since taking over for the fired Gerard Gallant, said his team showed the Penguins "too much respect" at the beginning of the game.

"They have two of the best players in the world," Rowe said, referring to Crosby and fellow center Evgeni Malkin. "That could have intimidated some of our younger guys a little bit."

The Penguins got their three first-period goals from Crosby (18th of the season), Conor Sheary (seventh) and Tom Kuhnhackl (second).

Matt Cullen scored his seventh goal of the season with 14:12 left in the third. Carl Hagelin scored an empty-net goal with help from goalie Matthew Murray, who got his first assist of the season.

Panthers right winger Jaromir Jagr, who won Stanley Cups with the Penguins in 1991 and 1992, scored a goal in the second period. It was career goal No. 755 for the 44-year-old Jagr, who is third on the all-time NHL list behind Wayne Gretzky (894) and Gordie Howe (801).

Jagr also has 1,882 career points. With six more points, he would pass Mark Messier for No. 2 on the all-time NHL list, trailing only Wayne Gretzky (2,857).

Murray, who made 19 saves, earned the win. Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo took the loss, making 26 saves.

One positive for Florida: Defenseman Keith Yandle kept his games-played streak alive despite a leg injury.

Yandle has played 579 games, making it the 10th-longest streak in NHL history. Yandle took a puck off the leg in his previous game and got hit by a high stick to the face against Pittsburgh but kept on skating.

Pittsburgh opened the scoring with 16:54 left in the first period. Crosby scored on a wrist shot from the point that went past two Panthers defenders before it beat a slightly screened Luongo to his glove side.

A little over a minute later, with the teams skating four aside, a loose puck bounced off the rear boards after Sheary misplayed a shot on a 2-on-1 with Crosby. It was accidentally kicked in by Luongo with his right leg, and the goal was credited to Sheary, unassisted.

Pittsburgh made it 3-0 less than three minutes later on a goal credited to Kuhnhackl. Scott Wilson's shot from the point bounced in off the left leg of Kuhnhackl, who was standing at the top of the crease. The Panthers challenged the goal, claiming goalie interference on Kuhnhackl, but Florida was denied.

"Our start broke us down," Yandle said. "It's tough to battle back from a 3-0 (deficit)."

Florida finally got on the board with 13:43 left in the second period when Jagr scored off a backhand pass from Aleksander Barkov. That was Jagr's sixth goal of the season, and it came on a power play after the Penguins were penalized for too many men on the ice.

"I tried to take the goalie and the defenseman with me and pass it to 'Jags'," Barkov said of the play that snapped Florida's 0-for-16 power-play drought. "I was pretty happy when it worked."

That Florida momentum was thwarted, however, on the Cullen goal. The play was set up by Wilson, who somehow got the puck on net even though he was on his knees and behind the goal. Cullen then scored five-hole on the rebound.

"Sometimes when a team gets a 3-0 lead, you have a tendency to exhale," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "I was very pleased that our guys stayed with it and played the game the right way."

NOTES: The Penguins sent LW Jake Guentzel and D Derrick Pouliot to their AHL team at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. ... The Panthers were without three injured players: RW Jonathan Marchessault (lower body), D Alex Petrovic (ankle) and LW Jonathan Huberdeau (foot). ... Florida scratched D Dylan McIlrath and LW Shawn Thornton. ... Pittsburgh scratched C Eric Fehr and D Steve Oleksy. ... This was the only time this regular season that the Penguins visited the Panthers. ... Up next, the Penguins visit the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday. ... Florida plays host to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.