If Crosby And Malkin Stay Healthy, Are The Penguins A Playoff Team? They Weren’t Last Year

The most-snubbed superstar in the history of hockey picked up a pair of assists on Saturday for the Pittsburgh Penguins, moving him into 36th on the all-time NHL scoring list with 1,300 points.

Amongst current players, only Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin have put up more points. And yet, there was a time when the NHL didn’t even include Evgeni Malkin in its list of top 100 players to celebrate its centennial.

Back then, the joke was that Malkin was ranked 101st. That same year, Pittsburgh won its first of back-to-back Stanley Cups.

So, yeah, he may have been motivated.

Something similar happened a year ago, when ESPN somehow forget to put Malkin in its season preview of top 100 players. The reason was that he was getting too old and constantly getting hurt.

Malkin, who was coming off an 83-point season, followed it up with 67 points. But the more important number was 82 — as in, for the second year in a row, he and Crosby both played in all 82 games. The rare streak has continued into Malkin’s 19th season and Crosby’s 20th.

Not only have the two veterans been healthy, but they have also been highly productive. Malkin leads the Penguins with four points, while Crosby is second on the team with three points.

Combined, they have seven points in three games — even if all of them are assists.

It’s early, of course. But one week into the season, Malkin, who won the Hart Trophy in 2012, is back among the NHL’s top 15 scorers. And unlike in 2012, Crosby is right there with him.

“What is there to say? I think it speaks for itself. He’s one of the greatest players of all time,” said coach Mike Sullivan. “He’s clearly one of the best players of his generation. We’re fortunate that we have two of them on our team.”

It’s too bad Pittsburgh doesn’t have more of them. Although, with how much of a discount Crosby provided on his contract extension, GM Kyle Dubas should have the cap space to get more reinforcements in the coming years. Not that he can afford to wait too long. These Penguins aren’t getting any younger.

At 38, Malkin obviously isn’t the player he used to be. But like Crosby, who has three points in three games, it’s not like Father Time is winning the battle just yet.

Malkin was a handful against the Leafs on Saturday. His blast from the point helped set up Kris Letang’s power-play goal to give Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead in the first period. And after Pittsburgh went down 3-1 in the third, he used his 6-foot-3 frame as a screen as Rickard Rakell made it a one-goal game.

Still, the Penguins lost 4-2 in a game where they didn’t look much like a team that will contend for a Stanley Cup — much less snap their two-year playoff drought. That is, unless they get more contributions from players who are in their early 20s — not late 30s.

After all, Crosby and Malkin played in all 82 games in each of the past two seasons. And the Penguins missed the playoffs both of those years.

“It’s not a great game,” said Malkin. “We can play better, for sure. Every line. I hope next game we play better everything.”

When told of his milestone, Malkin seemed uninterested to talk about individual achievements.

“When you lose, it’s different,” he said. “I’m not looking to my points right now. I want the team to win.”

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