DALLAS -- For 56 days, it taunted them, that imaginary line that separates the top eight teams from the bottom eight in the Eastern Conference.

Not since Jan. 2 had the Penguins been in the bonus half of that equation. They had 42 points then and were in seventh place in the East, narrowly ahead of Buffalo, Carolina and Florida.

The next night, the Penguins fell below the playoff cutoff with a loss to Florida. It was the start of a run of four losses in five games, and a stretch of nearly two months punctuated with questions about whether the team that advanced to the 2008 Stanley Cup final would miss the postseason this spring.

While it's still far from sure the Penguins will be playing past the middle of April, their 4-1 win against the Dallas Stars yesterday at American Airlines Center got their heads above water with 18 games remaining.

It was their third consecutive win, their longest such streak since they won six in a row Nov. 1-15, and boosted them into eighth place in the East, allowing them to regain some control over where they finish.

"We want to make the playoffs, that's for sure, and I don't think we're going to miss it," said Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, who grinned, raised his arms and pumped his fists when asked about moving back above the playoff line.

"We had such a tough time and we've been battling so hard to keep it up, keep it up and not fall too far behind. It's good to be back in."

Fleury made 20 saves, allowing only a third-period power-play goal by Loui Eriksson, to earn his 100th career victory and improve his season record to 24-16-4. He had a strong stretch drive and playoff run a year ago and hopes to be that kind of force again.

"That's my goal, but I think we've got to do it as a team," Fleury said.

The Penguins were a mediocre 10-11-2 during the time they were below eighth place. If they are going to qualify for the playoffs and be a serious threat to win a series or four, they will need to be a lot better than that.

"We still have a lot of improving to do, but now that we're stringing wins together, it sure makes the look at the standings a little bit more comfortable," said interim coach Dan Bylsma, who is 5-1-1 since taking over for Michel Therrien.

"We have a long way to go here."

Fleury will need a considerable amount of help, like the sort he got against the Stars.

Center Evgeni Malkin has been doing his part all season and yesterday had a goal and two assists to increase NHL-leading point total to 92.

"I just tried to help my team with my scores and my assists," Malkin said.

"It's good because we're playing every game better and better. The team feels great now."

And that's without center and captain Sidney Crosby, who has sat out all three games of the winning streak with a groin injury.

Center Jordan Staal and winger Miroslav Satan, who have struggled offensively at times, each scored for the second consecutive game. Defenseman Kris Letang, recently a healthy scratch under Bylsma for three games, also scored.

"Right now, it seems like the right players are stepping in and taking the opportunity to show the new coach what they can do," Staal said. "The whole team's playing pretty well."

They dispatched the Stars quickly, building a 2-0 lead in the first period as Staal scored off a rebound of a Malkin shot at 4:08 and Letang lifted a backhander past backup Dallas goaltender Tobias Stephan at 16:21.

They doubled that lead in the second period, starting with Satan picking off an ill-advised pass between two Dallas defensemen, pulling the puck around a lunging Stephan and tapping it in at 8:18. Malkin then got the puck alone in the right circle after a crazy carom off the end glass and calmly dished it past Stephan for a power-play goal at 12:38.

The Penguins made it 2 for 2 on what could have been a back-breaking, five-game road trip to improve to 14-13-4 away from Mellon Arena.

They rallied twice to beat Chicago, which has grown into a contender this season. They beat Dallas, which is in a struggle to make the playoffs in the West. Still remaining on the 11-day trip are Tampa Bay, a team out of the playoff race with nothing to lose and a host of former Penguins; Florida, two points ahead of the Penguins in the thick of the same playoff race; and Washington, an emerging rival for the Penguins and one of the top teams in the East.

"We want to keep going," Crosby said.

"It's really tight. You win, you gain a little bit of ground, but not tons. It's just important to keep being consistent and keep winning. We're happy to be in that position now, but we've got to keep going."