Pittsburgh Penguins' Evgeni Malkin Is One of the Best Players Ever
With Sidney Crosby perhaps now out of the NHL Playoffs, Evgeni Malkin has stepped up to take his place. This isn't the first time, and it"s made Malkin one of the greatest.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have, for a long time, had two great centers. One, of course, is Sidney Crosby, for sure a top 10 all-time player, and the best player of his generation. But lesser known is Evgeni Malkin, who has hidden from the limelight.
Malkin already has a Hart trophy and a Conn Smythe in his career. With the Pittsburgh Penguins one game away from advancing versus the Washington Capitals, Malkin might be looking to add more hardware to his collection.
Entering The League, Filling in for Sid
Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin (71) skates with the puck (Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports)
Evgeni Malkin has had a long career, and since his first season has played second fiddle to Crosby. He spent his first two NHL-eligible seasons in the KHL, playing with Metallurg Magnitogorsk. That includes a lockout canceled season for the NHL, but in the KHL, Malkin put up 32 points over 52 games in the 04-05 season.
Malkin stayed there while Sidney Crosby came to the NHL. Evgeni wouldn't have his rookie season in the National Hockey League until the year after. Malkin, exactly a year and a week older, played well out of the spotlight. While Sidney Crosby scored the most points in the league, with 120, Malkin scored a not unimpressive 85.
Two years later, Malkin would exceed even Crosby, putting up 113 points, including a league-leading 78 assists. Crosby, recovering from an injury-shortened season, would put up 103. That year, the Pittsburgh Penguins drove all the way to the Cup. While Crosby scored the most goals in those playoffs, Malkin added the most assists and scored the most points, winning the Conn Smythe.
Three years later, in the 2011-12 season, Sidney Crosby would go down with an injury, playing just 22 games. Malkin showed his true capabilities for the first time, driving the Penguins to a 51 win season. Evgeni finished with his first (and only) 50 goal season and the most points (109) in the NHL. He won the Hart, the Ted Lindsay, and the Art Ross that year.
While Crosby was able to play in the playoffs that year, the two weren't able to capture that same Cup magic, and the Pittsburgh Penguins lost in the first round.
Injuries Of His Own
Since that Hart-worthy season, Malkin has not played a full season. In that time, Malkin has gone without even an awards nomination. Since 2011-12, the closest Malkin has come to playing a full 82 was in 2014-15, playing just 69 games. That season, he had 70 points.
Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin (71) controls the puck (Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports)
In fact, while Malkin hasn't played close to all the games, he's never fallen below a point-per-game pace. Unfortunately, that doesn't include the playoffs, as in the playoffs following that 69-game season, Malkin went scoreless. The Pittsburgh Penguins then fell out in just five games to the New York Rangers.
Malkin's injuries (courtesy Fox Sports) since the 2013-14 season reveal how badly he's been hurt, and how often. Malkin's repeatedly suffered lower-body injuries (typically knees or feet), recently beginning to suffer injuries to his upper body. Evgeni's been day to day with both an arm and shoulder injury in the last two years.
In fact, Malkin has almost never been healthy. The last time Malkin played a full 82 game season was 2008-09, just his third season in the NHL. The year he put up his career record in points. Also since that 2011-12 season, Malkin has not recorded over 80 points, a feat he achieved four times in six seasons before then.
Again, while Malkin's production hasn't slowed – he produced 72 points in just 62 games this season – I'm sure that he would like to return to the ice and show the world what he can do. If he got another 82 game season, he would likely return to that 100 point mark.
Pittsburgh Penguins' Recent Playoff Success
Recently, the Penguins have stepped up their postseason success even more. While the addition of players like Phil Kessel, Nick Bonino, Carl Hagelin, Trevor Daley, and Olli Maatta certainly doesn't hurt, it's been on the backs of Crosby and Malkin again.
Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin (71) celebrates his goal with teammates (Bruce Fedyck-USA TODAY Sports)
In the Pittsburgh Penguins' cup run last year, Malkin scored 18 points in 23 games, posting 6 goals. One of those was game-winning. This year, Malkin has been even better.
While Sidney Crosby has fluctuated this postseason, Malkin has been nothing but great. Evgeni's posted a league-high 16 points, including 12 assists and four goals. Malkin scored those four goals on just 24 shots. When he shoots in these playoffs, it's likely a good chance. Evgeni's also won over half of his faceoffs, with a 50.8 percentage, and played more minutes a game than last season.
Malkin led the Penguins comeback in game 3, tying the game and sending it to overtime in just two minutes:
[Via Youtube.com]
Malkin has made an award-winning career out of stepping up when Crosby went down. In Game 3 of this year's playoff series against the Capitals, he was no different. Malkin has the ability to come in clutch. It's just one of the factors that make him one of the best players of all time.
Malkin's All-Time Argument
Evgeni Malkin's career 1.178 points per game in the regular season is 14th all-time. It's ahead of names like Steve Yzerman, Bobby Hull, and Mark Messier. That alone launches him into the top 100 conversation, which is why so many were surprised when he was left off the list.
And they're not wrong to discuss it. How does a player who's helped win Cups – he won his Conn Smythe before his teammate Sidney Crosby – has won himself individual recognition (again, he's an MVP) not make the list? To me, Evgeni Malkin is akin to the center version of Patrick Kane. If Kane's in your list, Malkin has to be.
And it's not just regular season points per game and hardware where Malkin remains impressive. In assists per game, he's just outside the top 20 with .714. In the playoffs, Malkin is 15th all-time in points-per-game with 1.090, and he's tied for 16th in assists per game with .699. He remains able to score no matter the situation, and he deserves to be in this argument.
He's clutch, he's a points monster, and he's got an all-time work ethic:
[Via Youtube.com]
Malkin is truly one of the best players in NHL history.
What Sets Him Over the Edge
Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin (71) skates in warm-ups (Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports)
If the Penguins beat the Capitals in this series, the best story arch is Evgeni Malkin. With Sidney Crosby having been announced as concussed, the load has been passed to Malkin. With both the Pittsburgh Penguins' best goaltender and best defenseman out of the playoffs, it's now Malkin versus the world.
So if he's able to overcome the best team the Washington Capitals have ever been – and he's already done it once – then just give him his second Conn Smythe now. While Marc-Andre Fleury has been great, Malkin's been better. If the Penguins are able to rely on the line of Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel to do the heavy lifting for this team and they win a cup?
Just announce that the NHL's made a mistake. Cause Evgeni Malkin, as if he wasn't already, would firmly be one of the best 100 players of all time. Maybe even top 30.
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