Are The Penguins Dead in the Water Without Malkin?

Friday, March 11, 2016 Dalton Prout of the Columbus Bluejackets, checked through the hands of Pittsburgh superstar center, Evegeni Malkin. What seemed to be a fairly routine and innocent hit, has put Malkin on the shelf with what the Penguins are calling an upper body injury, for 6-8 weeks. This means the Pens are going to have to make a playoff push without the Russian center as well as finding a way to wade through the first round. For the one they call “Geno” will not be back until at the very minimum, the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. How will this affect the team?

There’s no doubt that without Malkin the Penguins suffer down the middle. The Russian All-Star’s ability to back up the defense with his skating and puck handling magic, as well as create an offensive surge every time he’s on the ice, is not something that can be easily replaced. Just take a look at the team’s power play in his absence. Without Malkin in the lineup the last four games, the Pens have gone 2 for 19 on the PP. For what was developing into the lethal powerplay that they are expected to be, under Sullivan’s rule, has once again dropped off the face of the Earth without 71’s skill set on the half wall. That’s not at all a good thing, especially in the playoffs where special teams can easily make a difference in a series. But can the Penguins survive?

Since placing Malkin on the IR, the Penguins have played five very crucial conference games and won all five. This is definitely impressive without Geno. Not only has Sidney Crosby ramped up his game even further, Kessel is using his speed to contribute on the forecheck and backcheck, and the 3rd and 4th lines are chipping in as well. It’s become a total team effort all the way around. Which is what is needed to win a cup. So maybe Malkin being put on the shelf for a little while is a good thing. It’s forced the Penguins to all step up their game and completely execute the system the coaching staff has given them. To be honest, that’s actually great news. The players are beginning to see what they are capable of and what they can achieve together. That’s the attitude and work ethic they will need to in order to hoist that sweet chalice in June. The question now will be, can the Penguins maintain that attitude while Malkin is out and then accelerate it with him back in the lineup come the 2nd round?

Make no mistake, the team is better with 71 healthy and in the lineup. There is no team in the league that would say no to having an Evgeni Malkin centering one of their top two lines. As for long term, the Pens will feel the effect of being without Malkin, that’s a foregone conclusion. The powerplay is proving that right now. Do they need Malkin back right away? No! The Penguins will survive the rest of the season without him. They will probably even survive the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. But the Pittsburgh Penguins will not make a deep run without the one-two punch of 87 and 71. The “Russian Bear” is invaluable to this team’s success and that showed in the playoffs last season when Malkin was left pointless and the Pens made an early exit from the playoffs. A healthy Malkin, Crosby, Letang, and Fleury is what this team is built on. Some call them the core of the team, I call them the foundation. But no matter what they are called, if one goes down with injury, the team will suffer eventually. So let’s all pray, sing songs, do a healing dance, cast spells, breath fire, release birds, light incense, or whatever kind of non-medical healing ritual you may prefer and hope that it all works, so that Evgeni Malkin and be back in the lineup sooner rather than later.