Leave it to Penguins star Evgeni Malkin to put a new spin on an old Teddy Roosevelt quote. Rather than “speak softly and carry a big stick,” as the former U.S. President was fond of saying?
How about speak loudly and carry a big stick?
Days after expressing his disappointment with the team’s dismal play, Malkin paced the resurgent Penguins to a scintillating 4-3 victory over Minnesota with an inspired four-point performance that was vintage Geno.
After assisting on the first two black-and-gold goals, No. 71 shifted into overdrive. At 8:15 of the second period the Magnitogorsk native beat Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk with a wicked one-timer from the top of the left circle.
The power-play tally–Geno’s third of the season and the 100th of his career–set the stage for the coup de grace. Coming late on the play, Malkin gathered in a pretty feed from linemate Phil Kessel high in the Minnesota zone. Displaying a Lemieux-esque sleight of hand, the rangy Russian evaded Wild forward Mikael Granlund with a bit of “now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t” wizardry and ripped the puck past Dubnyk to trigger a frenzied celebration.
Afterward, the king of the highlight goals held court in a much happier Pens locker room.
“It was good luck tonight for me,” Malkin said. “I scored, got a couple assists. Every game is still a little bit different. Sometimes it’s a hard game. You hit a couple posts. You need to focus and play 60 minutes. Doesn’t matter what the score is.”
Clendening, Plotnikov Play
After watching from the press box for 13 straight games, defenseman Adam Clendening dressed for the second time this season. He replaced veteran Rob Scuderi, who sat out with an undisclosed illness.
Clendening made the most of his 11:50 of ice time. The mobile defender collected a second assist on Malkin’s game-winner, springing Kessel with a beautiful stretch pass from deep in the Penguins’ zone. The former Boston University star also registered a hit and two blocked shots. He finished the evening a plus-1.
Another frequent scratch–Sergei Plotnikov–filled in for Nick Bonino (illness). Flashing the aggression that made him a force (and fan favorite) in the KHL, the husky winger dished out three hits and drew a slashing minor.
Maatta Hurt
Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta suffered an upper-body injury midway through the contest. The Finnish defender tumbled awkwardly into the door in front of the Minnesota bench after being shoved from behind by Wild forward Nino Niederreiter.
Maatta writhed on the ice for several minutes in obvious pain. After being attended to by Pens trainer Chris Stewart, he was helped to the locker room and taken to a local hospital for evaluation.
It continues a string of misfortune for the 21-year-old defender, who’s overcome two shoulder surgeries and treatment for thyroid cancer during his brief NHL career.
While the exact nature of the injury wasn’t revealed, the team said it was not related to Maatta’s surgically repaired shoulder.
He’s expected to miss three to four weeks.
Indeed Malkin played well last game. You could tell by his comments after the Devils game that HE WAS VERY UPSET. The spin Doctors tried to patch over it and blame it on his English skills.( He has only been here for 11 years). I think he was pretty clear in what he met by saying the team is mad at each other.
They are upset at each other and it shows in their play.
This was his way of making a point.Everybody,stop crying and blaming others,and do your job ! If your paid to score goals,then damn well shoot the puck. As they say, “actions speak louder than words”. Last night Geno was heard loud and clear.
Amen, Jim.
It sure was nice to see Geno bust loose. Now if we could just get Sid going …
That is the 12 million dollar question Rick. 18 games …2 goals ? Something is not right. It hasn’t been for a long while. Nobody
wants to have a mature, adult conversation about either. If he ends up with 18 goals and 40 assists at the end of this season…His trade value will be almost nil. Plus you have him for another 8 years on the books. What do you do then? This is a business decision,not based on emotions,not on how much you like the guy. He is paid to be one of the best players in the game.12 Million dollars is a lot of money. What do you do? Do you wait and hope things turn around or make a business decision based on facts and try to maximize your return?
2 goals. 18 games. Something is wrong….
Hey Jim,
I was writing a response to you and it wound up turning into my latest post. Thanks for the inspiration … 🙂
My pleasure Rick.
If you ever get time,because it may take a bit of research,maybe you could do a piece on the potential sale of the team and the apparent lack of suitors.It would be interesting to get some of your readers feed back on that issue.
For the record,if I was Mario I would do the same thing.Sell off 95 % of my shares, then keep 5 % and a minor role in the new Pens ownership group.
When Mario first announced the possible sale last spring,I thought that it was a mistake from strictly a business point of view.Now it has been almost 6 month’s and no talk on the issue, it makes people wonder what’s wrong.That did not have to happen if Mario had just kept it to them selves.
fyi…