The past few weeks in NHL have not been easy for veteran forward Evgeni Malkin. The Pittsburgh Penguins great has now opened about his season and got emotional.
This 37-year-old is now in his 18th season with the Penguins. After a fast start to the new season, the age seems to be catching up to him. Despite this challenges, the Russian international has vowed to give it all but did admit that he was not the same player as before.
Speaking to the media recently, Malkin said:
Every game, I try my best, I'm not playing like it's 15 years ago. It's not the same game. I want to try to change a little bit. I know I'm not flying like before. Evgeni Malkin on the recent struggles as per NHL.com.
This words from Malkin came after he took his second maintenance day in a week. While he does have 41 points this season with 16 goals, his work rate has been under the spotlight with many fans and experts criticizing him for his slow movement on ice.
Recently Malkin was also involved in an embarrassing incident along with Kris Letang. During the game against the Avs. he would receive a back pass from his teammate. Unfortunately Malkin was unable to control the puck which resulted in an own goal.
Before the start of the season, there had been questions on whether the aging trio of Malkin along with Letang and Sidney Crosby could led them to Stanley Cup glory. At the moment, things are not going as they hoped for leading to further questions about the impact of this players.
Panthers crush Penguins 5-2 to hand them third consecutive defeat
After beating the Winnipeg Jets 3-0 last week, the Pittsburgh Penguins suffered two back-to-back defeats against the Minnesota Wild and Jets again. They entered the game on Wednesday night hoping to bounce back. Instead they got crushed 5-2 by the Florida Panthers.
The 2022-23 Eastern Conference champions have been in stunning form this season once again and entered this game on a two-game winning streak. This victory saw them extend their franchise-record road win streak to nine games.
Anton Lundell and Matthew Tkachuk both shined with their performances. While Tkachuk added a goal and assist, Lundell found the back of the net two times as well. Aaron Ekblad and Johan Gadjovich were also on the scoresheet in this dominant win.
The Penguins are now 29-20-7 for the season with 53 points and seventh in the Metropolitan Division table. With 12 points separating them from second place Carolina Hurricanes, the Pens would have to work much harder if they were to reach the Stanley Cup playoffs this season.
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