UNIONDALE, N.Y. — Evgeni Malkin made his anticipated postseason debut on Thursday at Nassau Coliseum, after skipping the first two games of the series due to injury.
The 34-year-old centered the second line, with Jason Zucker and Kasperi Kapanen on his wings. Malkin also replaced Jared McCann on the top power play, skating on a unit that also featured Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang, Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust.
“Obviously, he’s a huge difference-maker out there,” Penguins second-year defenseman John Marino said before the game. “One of the best players in the world. It’s awesome that he’s able to come back. It will be great to have him in the room, too. Just his energy. I’m sure everyone will be fired up to have him back.”
Malkin was initially injured on March 16, when he collided knee-to-knee with Boston’s rugged defenseman Jarred Tinordi. He missed seven weeks before returning for the final four games of the regular season. In the 56th and final game, he didn’t take a shift for the final 8-plus minutes after believing that he “tweaked” something.
Coach Mike Sullivan said at the time that the Penguins held Malkin out as a precaution. However, the big Russian’s participation in practice during the week leading up to Game 1 fluctuated, as he only took line rushes and worked with the power play until Tuesday. After that, he was on the ice for the regular workouts, but also skated separately with skills coach Ty Hennes.
Now that he's back, as the series unfolds, the question now becomes: How does he hold up during a long, physical postseason?
Beyond that, the other big question is which version of Geno do they get? Because he's shown different iterations of himself from year-to-year and even within seasons.
Malkin racked up the fifth-most points per game during a bounce-back 2019-20 season. However, his shortened and condensed pandemic season started slowly. Malkin himself admitted he needed to “look in the mirror” following a late January loss in Boston. At that point, he had recorded just three points in eight games and his turnovers were at a career worst (5.32 per 60 minutes).
Then a switch flipped. Part of that was Malkin’s own doing. Part of it was the instant chemistry he formed with electric winger Kapanen.
Malkin surged, racking up 17 points in 15 games. Pittsburgh won 11 games during that span, including six in a row before Malkin went down.
Before Malkin returned for the last handful of games in the regular season, coach Mike Sullivan talked about the challenges of ramping up.
“Obviously there’s going to be an adjustment process for Geno,” the coach said. “He’s been out for quite a while now. ... It’s hard to simulate game intensity, timing, all those things in a practice environment. The only way you really get that is playing in an NHL game with NHL intensity.”
Now add NHL "playoff" game to all those sentences.
‘Three-headed monster’ at center
While it is critical for the Penguins to have another star center back, the ripple effect with Malkin in the lineup is just as significant.
Geno's return bumped Jeff Carter to the third line. He skated between McCann and Freddy Gaudreau. In doing so, the Penguins appear to have three solid scoring lines to go along with the shut-down Teddy Blueger line.
“The three-headed monster that they have when Malkin plays, at center ice, they’re pretty loaded,” Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. “You’re going to have two Hall of Famers and one that’s pretty close.”
When Makin was missing, the Carter trade was proving valuable as Geno insurance.
Now? Carter is being cast in a bottom-six role that probably fits his skillset at this stage in his career. Yes, he might not be exactly the same player as the 24-year-old who scored 46 goals in 2008-09. But at 36 and on his third team, Carter’s two-way play that earned him Selke Trophy votes could be just as valuable.
Through two games, the Penguins have held Mathew Barzal and his wingers, Leo Komarov and Jordan Eberle, off the score sheet. The Blueger line has been critical in that regard. So too has Carter, who often played against the Islanders’ top line during faceoffs on the right side.
While Carter played right wing for the majority of the last two seasons, Sullivan said the plan all along was to move him back to the middle to create this dynamic.
“Our intent when we acquired him was to put him at the center ice position,” Sullivan said. “He’s done a real good job for us there. He wins face offs. His size and his strength helps us down the middle when we’re playing in our end. He’s good defensively.
“And then I think just his experience [helps him] make plays under pressure. There’s no panic in his game in any aspect, regardless of what the score is. He made some subtle plays in that Game 2 when we’re defending a one-goal lead that a lot of the casual spectators go unnoticed. But certainly, our coaching staff and his teammates notice those types of things.”
Zucker back in the top six
A return for Malkin meant a promotion for Zucker.
The first two games of the series, the speedy winger played on what was the third line on paper but the fourth line in terms of minutes. During 5-on-5 play, Zucker skated in just 23:19. As a point of comparison, the second line played about 30-plus minutes during the first two games. Now that he’s on Malkin’s wing, Zucker will surely see the volume and quality of minutes increase.
In 38 games this season, Zucker had tallied nine goals and nine assists. However, he’s still looking for his first point of this postseason.
“He’s a good North-South player,” Sullivan said. “He goes to the net. He brings a physical presence to our team. For a guy that’s not overly big, he plays the game with a lot of edge and a lot of bite. I think he’s playing hard for us right now. He’s doing a lot of the little things, winning the wall battles and helping us become a team that’s hard to play against.”
Gaudreau nudges Rodrigues out of the lineup
Adding a forward means the Penguins will need to bump one out of the lineup. Evan Rodrigues will be that player.
The move says more about Gaudreau’s emergence than anything. He only earned an opportunity initially because Malkin and Blueger were injured. He played well enough to leapfrog Mark Jankowski on the depth chart. Now, it appears his versatility has also earned him the nod ahead of Rodrigues.
It also says something about the Penguins' sudden depth. At one especially injury-plagued stretch, Rodrigues centered the second line in mid-March. Now, the Penguins are healthy enough that their Swiss Army Knife can sit in the press box for a playoff game.
Mike DeFabo: mdefabo@post-gazette.com and Twitter @MikeDeFabo.
First Published: May 20, 2021, 3:51 p.m.
Updated: May 20, 2021, 11:06 p.m.