Was Malkin A Disturbance To The Force?

With Evgeni Malkin returning to the lineup for game 2 against the Rangers, many were expecting an overwhelming offensive assault, myself included. He was even inserted into a "third" line with Sheary as per the request of fans, again myself included. Instead, we were treated to a rather uninspired performance by the Penguins in a brutal 5-2 loss. Most of the players seemed confused at times, and the usually spot on Mike Sullivan was having a tough time finding more than one or two combinations that could spend any amount of time in the offensive zone. Malkin himself was held to zero shots 5 on 5.

Since his injury, the Penguins had only one loss prior to clinching a playoff spot, and were dominant in a 5-2 victory of their own in game 1.

While much of the buzz during that winning streak centred around where to insert Malkin into the lineup, maybe they should have let him rest up until the Penguins didn't have the momentum anymore. That's the hot topic of the day for hockey insiders, to be digested by the general public.

I definitely didn't think that way until after the horrendous team play on Saturday. Hindsight is 20/20, but I do see the logic behind that train of thought. There's some good arguments either way. Why mess with a winning unit until you have to? On the other hand, why not take an already amazing lineup and make it potentially unstoppable by adding a beast like Evgeni Malkin? Both good points and tough to argue.

My main question (which I'll credit to my main hockey conversationalist, my brother Matt) is why are these analysts only asking about Malkin? He's not the only one who made his return. Bryan Rust also came back from injury in game 2. Perhaps they should have only added Malkin and not Rust. That may have been less of a disturbance. Perhaps Rust is more the type of player the Pens need at the moment and Malkin should have been withheld by himself.

No one can say for sure if Malkin somehow created a negative affect. We'll find out more on Monday. But what we can say for sure is he's not the only one we should be wondering about.