With Evgeni Malkin serving the first contest of a five-game suspension — to say nothing of the absence of their other superstar, the injured Sidney Crosby — the Pittsburgh Penguins deployed a variety of changes to their top three lines when they hosted the rival Phiiladelphia Flyers at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday.

Despite those augmentations, they suffered a result that has become all too familiar this season, a 4-3 shootout loss, extending a losing streak to three games (0-2-1).

Flyers forward Trevor Zegras scored the lone shootout goal to claim victory in a contest that featured several miscues by both squads.

The Penguins fell to 1-8 in shootouts this season.

In shootouts, they have scored on seven of 27 attempts (25.9%) and their goaltenders have stopped 10 of 25 shots (.400).

As for the Penguins’ shuffled forward ranks, the top line saw Egor Chinakhov skate with Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust while the second line featured Tommy Novak centering Justin Brazeau and Anthony Mantha.

A new “kid” line of rookies Ville Koivunen, Ben Kindel and Avery Hayes accounted for the third-line duties.

The trusted fourth line — AKA the “LAD Line” — of Blake Lizotte, Noel Acciari and Connor Dewar remained intact.

Goaltender Stuart Skinner unofficially made 12 saves on 15 shots as his record fell to 19-13-7.

Novak opened the scoring exactly three minutes into regulation by tallying his 12th goal during a power-play sequence.

Accepting a pass at the left point of the offensive zone, Koivunen sauntered his way up the boards and offloaded the puck to the left of the cage. From there, Brazeau one-touched a pass to the high slot for Novak, who swept in a one-timer past goaltender Dan Vladar’s glove. Flyers defenseman Emil Andrae appeared to inadvertently screen Vladar on the sequence. Brazeau and Koivunen had assists.

The Flyers needed only 54 seconds to respond via forward Owen Tippett’s 20th goal.

From off his own right half-wall, Hayes made a careless backhand touch pass intended for Koivunen in the slot, but the puck wound up sliding to the blue line where Flyers defenseman Cam York alertly kept it onside then flipped a backhand pass toward the cage. Flyers forward Trevor Zegas caught the puck with this left glove, dropped it to the ice and dished it to the upper left hashmark where an onrushing Tippett swiped a one-timer past Skinner’s blocker on the near side.

The teams exchanged goals throughout the second period.

Rakell restored a lead with his 12th goal at the 3:38 mark with a wrister from above the Flyers’ right circle.

Flyers forward Alex Bump, who made his NHL debut, tied the contest only 68 seconds later when he scored on his first shot.

All of 59 seconds after that, Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson struck with his sixth goal with a one-timer from Philadelphia’s left point.

The Flyers persisted as forward Denver Barkey scored his third goal at 10:03 of the second frame.

Notes: Penguins forward Elmer Soderblom was a healthy scratch as he traveled to Pittsburgh a day after he was acquired in a trade with the Detroit Red Wings. … Penguins defensemen Ryan Graves and Ilya Solovyov, as well as forward Kevin Hayes, were also healthy scratches. … Penguins forward Connor Dewar appeared in his 300th career game.

This story will be updated.