PITTSBURGH – At the beginning of the 2023-24 season, the Pittsburgh Penguins saw great production from Evgeni Malkin. According to the NHL, he was among the first Three Stars of the Week and put up eight points in the first five games.
With that hot start well in the rearview, the last few weeks haven’t been kind to Malkin and it might be time for a change in the Penguins game plan. With only one goal in his last eight games, the Penguins should consider the idea of demoting Malkin in a few areas.
The Penguins power play is in need of a massive overhaul, and stripping Malkin from the first unit would be a good first step. It’s a move the Penguins have tried before, albeit briefly, but should give another look to to try and wake up a power play that is costing them games.
Moving a 37-year-old to the third line makes a ton of sense for most players, but Malkin has been a top center his entire career. Age just might be getting to him as the wheels are slowly starting to fall.
Malkin was on the ice for two of the three unanswered goals from the Vegas Golden Knights in their comeback win over the Penguins. While Malkin has never been known for his defense, these moments didn’t do much to help with the crowd that believes he’s a lazy player.
Caught sleeping in front of the net for the first goal and taking himself out of position on the second helped open avenues for the Golden Knights to claim victory from sure defeat.
“We not play great third period,” Malkin said. “It’s not my best game.”
Malkin noted that Vegas played a great third period, and the Penguins needed to be better around their own net. That’s an area he isn’t in often, but when he is he needs to improve.
“It’s up and down, you know?” Malkin said on his own game. “One game is good, like when I played in Philly, yesterday was not good. I need to play better every game."
Head coach Mike Sullivan stated that Malkin’s inconsistencies away from the puck can be a driving factor in this decline.
"He is so talented often just some of the inconsistencies in his game are more without the puck and just trying to do too much," Sullivan said. "I think he's trying to do too much instead of just doing his job and allowing his teammates to do theirs."
Malkin is a successful and well-decorated player in the NHL and deserves every ounce of respect he gets. At the age of 37, however, it’s perfectly normal for things to slow down. A move to the third-line center role would make perfect sense.
The only issue, however, is that the Penguins don’t have a skilled enough center to take Malkin’s spot. Lars Eller has been solid, but is he really second-line center material over a future Hall of Famer?
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