Penguins Wasting Stars’ Hot Start
Evgeni Malkin and other key Pittsburgh Penguins are having quality starts, but they aren't translating to wins.
Heading into the 2023-24 season, it was crucially important that the Pittsburgh Penguins got off to a hot start.
The Penguins are once again the oldest team in the NHL, a multitude of new teams will be fighting for playoff spots, and the expectations were higher this time around.
New president and general manager wasn’t just a breath of fresh air for the organization, but he worked overtime in bringing in elite talent and good balance of depth.
To avoid having to fight from behind down the stretch, the Penguins needed to pile wins early and often and some key players got the memo.
It’s still too early to hit the panic button, but through five games, only a handful of names have shown up to start the season.
Evgeni Malkin leads the team with eight points and was named the NHL’s third star of the week for the opening week; Jake Guentzel picked up six points through the first couple of games, and Bryan Rust has found the back of the net four times.
Some good chemistry has been formed between Malkin and newcomer Reilly Smith on the second line, and the addition of Erik Karlsson should prove to be dangerous.
The stars and key players, especially Malkin, have shown up, but the team as a whole has been wasting that hot start.
Malkin may have four goals and four assists, and is showing his worth in the NHL at age 37, but the Penguins as a whole are struggling.
2-3-0 through five games isn’t the end of the world, but it’s behind where they want to be and their losses haven’t been pretty.
The Penguins haven’t had the stiffest of competition either and are going to need to right the ship as soon as possible.
A star like Malkin doesn’t deserve to have his hot start mean nothing; he needs the support of his team to find the win column.
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