Evgeni Malkin needs to be at the top of his game to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a victory in Game 6.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are preparing for a pivotal Game 6 against the New York Rangers. Part of that preparation is figuring out how to replace their captain Sidney Crosby, who was injured in the second period of Game 5.
Crosby's status is still unclear as he is still being evaluated for an upper-body injury. The Penguins have outplayed the Rangers for a large portion of this series, but without Crosby, there is a hole in the lineup that only one person can fill.
Evgeni Malkin will need to be his best version of himself for the Penguins to end this series on home ice.
Malkin, the Penguins primarily second-line center, has had a strange season. He missed the initial two months while recovering from reconstructive knee surgery. Upon returning, Malkin showed that he still has plenty of gas left in the tank, scoring 20 goals and 42 points in 41 games in the regular season.
He has silently picked his spots for major scoring plays in this series against the Rangers.
When Malkin is not scoring triple-overtime winners or forcing a turnover leading to a game-winning goal in Game 3, he has been almost unnoticeable on the ice. In Game 5, Malkin seemed to take control of the game during the second period, setting up both Kris Letang and Jake Guentzel for the Penguins second and third goals of the game with beautiful tape-to-tape passes.
Historically, Malkin has stepped up in the absence of his superstar teammate. According to Statmuse.com, Evgeni Malkin has collected 199 points in 148 career games without Crosby in the lineup. He even won the Hart Trophy in 2011-12, a season in which Crosby played only 22 games.
That is the side of Malkin that the Penguins will be relying on to finish off the Rangers.
The other side of the coin for Malkin has always been a wild card. We saw it in the latter half of Game 5, as Malkin committed two penalties in the third period with the Penguins trailing by one goal.
The first infraction was an understandable reaction after being drug down to the ice by Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren. However, the second penalty was an inexcusable roughing call that put the Penguins shorthanded with just seven minutes left.
He also showed his wilder side late in the regular season when he was suspended four games for cross-checking Nashville Predators defenseman Mark Borowiecki. Undoubtedly, a primary focus of the Rangers game plan will be to get underneath Malkin's skin and force him to take bad penalties as he did in the final minutes of Game 5.
The Penguins will be looking to get the best version of Evgeni Malkin to show up for Game 6 at PPG Paints Arena. The keys for Malkin will be staying out of the penalty box and not trying to do everything all by himself, as he will be between Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust.
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