In his first game back from a five-game suspension, Evgeni Malkin took the reins and led the Pittsburgh Penguins to a decisive and crucial 7-2 victory over the NHL's best team in the Colorado Avalanche.
After playing five games without their two best players, the Pittsburgh Penguins were finally set to have one of them back in the lineup when they took on the league's best team in the Colorado Avalanche on Monday.
Evgeni Malkin made his return to the lineup after serving a five-game suspension. And he made an impression early and often in this one.
The Penguins stomped the Avalanche, 7-2, to hand Colorado only its sixth regulation loss on home ice this season, and Malkin was a huge reason why. The 39-year-old forward registered the first goal of the game a tick more than three minutes into the contest, added another tally 10 minutes later, and notched a helper to give him three points on the night.
The Penguins are now 34-18-15 with 83 points, which puts them two ahead of the New York Islanders and just seven points behind the Carolina Hurricanes, who have a game in hand. Pittsburgh plays Carolina two more times this month.
Suffice to say, this was a big win. The Penguins have been holding their own without Malkin and Sidney Crosby, but having 71 back in the fold made things a whole lot easier on the rest of the group.
And a dominant effort against the league's best team is certainly something that will boost morale even more.
"It's a good confidence booster for our team," Anthony Mantha said. "Obviously, we know we're able to play with every team, and the way we played [Monday], it just shows how resilient our team is and how special we are in here."
Pittsburgh wasted no time setting the tone in this one - and neither did Malkin. On his first shift back from suspension, Malkin took a tripping penalty and went to the box. The Penguins' penalty kill - ranked second in the NHL - managed to kill off the two-minute penalty, and Malkin and Rust found themselves in a give-and-go entering the offensive zone.
Rust got it to Malkin in the low slot area, and he performed a no-look spin-o-rama move and buried the puck behind Avs goaltender Scott Wedgewood on the backhand to give Pittsburgh the early 1-0 lead. However, just over a minute later, star forward Nathan MacKinnon registered his 45th goal of the season with a snipe from the slot to tie the game.
But- as they've done all year - the Penguins responded so quickly it's as if the tying goal never happened. Mantha was sprung on a breakaway on a gorgeous stretch pass from Erik Karlsson, and he slid a backhand through the five-hole to score his career-best 26th goal of the season in what has become a deja vu kind of thing for him to restore the one-goal lead.
Then, with seven minutes remaining in the first, Malkin and Egor Chinakhov - playing on the wing opposite Malkin with Tommy Novak sandwiched in between - gained the zone. Breaking down the right wing, Chinakhov threaded a nice seam pass to Malkin breaking down the left, and he put it home to register his second of the game and 15th of the season to make it 3-1 and prompt a goaltending change by the Avs.
And again, less than than a minute later - Karlsson got the puck to the net, where newest Penguin Elmer Soderblom was waiting at the net front. He tapped the puck in behind new Colorado goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood to earn his first with his new team and make it 4-1.
The Penguins did give up a goal less than a minute later to veteran blueliner Brent Burns, which cut their lead to 4-2. After a somewhat sloppy first period, however, the Penguins had goaltender Arturs Silovs to thank for carrying the 4-2 lead into the second, as he stopped 16 of 18 first-period shots by the Avalanche to preserve his team's lead despite Pittsburgh only amassing nine shots on goal.
From there, however, the Penguins went on cruise control.
Pittsburgh put on a clinic in the final 40, limiting Colorado to just a few high-danger chances and outscoring them the rest of the way, 3-0. It started with a floating wrister by Karlsson from the right point that found its way home midway through the second to make it 5-2, and the Penguins just kept coming.
After a nice play by Rickard Rakell in the defensive zone to pick a pass on a Penguins' power play, he got it to Malkin, who sprung Bryan Rust for a breakaway with about three and a half minutes to go in the middle frame. Rust beat Blackwood to make it 6-2, and the score remained that way until Noel Acciari potted his ninth of the season approaching the midway point of the third period to seal the 7-2 victory.
Here are a few quick thoughts and takeaways:
- This was a brilliant all-around effort from the Penguins. It was much different than the brand of hockey they have played over the last handful of games where they've come back in them and earned at least a point.
No, not this time. This time, they ragdolled the best team in the NHL on home ice, and they're still without the services of their best player. Getting Malkin back was only part of the puzzle, but he made a significant impact on the Penguins' ability to comfortably roll four lines again like they have been for much of the season.
This one was a statement, and boy, the Penguins delivered. This is a very good hockey team, folks.
- Speaking of "very good," I can't say enough about how otherwordly Erik Karlsson has been playing for the Penguins since the Olympic break.
He notched another three points in this one, giving him 14 points in his last 10 games. He has stepped up in a massive way this entire season, but his play down the stretch without Crosby and, for five games, Malkin has been nothing short of phenomenal.
This is the Erik Karlsson Kyle Dubas and the Penguins were hoping to acquire back in the summer of 2023. This is the Erik Karlsson that was, bar-none, the best NHL player in the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs for the Ottawa Senators. This is the Erik Karlsson that the Penguins desperately needed to see, and as an added bonus, he has pretty drastically improved his defense and is a mainstay on a successful PK unit this season.
It has been all-hands-on-deck for the Penguins all season long. But, if I'm picking a team MVP at the end of the season - and Pittsburgh ends up making the playoffs - Karlsson is that guy for me.
He's not just been their best player lately. He's been their best player for a good chunk of the 2025-26 season. And Penguins' fans are certainly in for a treat if we get to see the playoff version of Karlsson unlocked this time around.
- Silovs was magnificent in this game, especially early on. There was nothing he could do on either goal by the Avs, and he quite literally was responsible for the Penguins carrying the two-goal lead into the second period.
Something both Silovs and Stuart Skinner have been doing for the Penguins is coming up with big saves in big moments. One of those moments occurred in the third period of Monday's game, when Silovs made a nice glove save to rob Nazem Kadri of a goal that would have made it 6-3 early in the third period.
Silovs is a gamer, and he shows up in big moments. That has always been his track record. If the Penguins can continue to get this kind of goaltending from both guys, they shouldn't have much issue making the playoffs.
- One of the highlight moments of this game actually came courtesy of defenseman Connor Clifton.
During the third period, Colorado's Jack Drury has repeatedly cross-checking Malkin on the back, and Malkin began to retliate a bit. But before things could escalate, Clifton stepped in and challenged Drury to a fight, sticking up for his star teammate.
This is something we just haven't seen much of from the Penguins over the last several seasons, and it was kind of nice to see. It speaks to not only the kind of teammate Clifton is, but also to the chemistry of this particular locker room that guys are stepping up in this way.
Good stuff. Oh, and he won the fight pretty decisively, if you ask me.
- This was, by far, Soderblom's best game as a Penguin up to this point. He was bumped down to fourth-line duties in the absence of Blake Lizotte, who will miss four weeks with an upper-body injury. He earned two points and used his size well in this one at the net front, creating space and opportunity for himself and his linemates in Acciari and Connor Dewar.
The more I see from this guy, the more I like him. And the more I think he'll be a nice guy to have going into a potential playoff run.
- Mantha set a new career-high in goals with his 26th in there in the first period.
Won't spend time on this because I've already written about him at length. But what a remarkable season he's having. It's truly a marvel to watch.
- I mentioned this before, but this next game against the Canes on Wednesday looms large.
Some say the division is probably out of reach. I disagree. Carolina will lose its game in hand on Pittsburgh with a Tuesday night matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are currently four points behind the Penguins in the standings.
It's easy to root for Carolina in this one, but if they lose - and the Penguins manage to win Wednesday - that will put them just five points behind them with another head-to-head set for Sunday in Pittsburgh.
Either way, this win set the Penguins up pretty nicely. It's probably best to keep some separation from Columbus. However, if the Canes do lose, it will present the Penguins with a massive opportunity to chase their first division title since 2014.
Buckle up, folks. This is going to be a fun final 15 games of the regular season. And this sure is a fun hockey team to watch.
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