CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Evgeni Malkin hasn’t publicly labeled this his last hurrah with the Pittsburgh Penguins, but the 39-year-old is producing enough to entertain the thought of a 21st NHL season.
Malkin, who is in the last of a four-year, $24.4 million contract ($6.1 million average annual value) signed July 12, 2022, has 29 points (eight goals, 21 assists) in 26 games. He’s missed the past 15 games with an upper-body injury, though, and the second-line center would do just about anything to get back for the Penguins (20-12-9), who have won five in a row and six of their past seven games.
“I can move to defense, goalie, if the coach wants it,” Malkin said after practice on Tuesday. “I don’t care. I just want to play, you know?”
Malkin took full contact at practice for the first time since his upper-body injury. He could return against the New Jersey Devils at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; SN-PIT, MSGSN).
“The best feeling,” Malkin said of practicing. “You have more fun. When you skate alone, it’s not great. But [it was] a good day for me. I mean, tough, a little bit, but again, I’m happy to be back with the team [and] enjoy those guys. One more practice tomorrow and, like, I hope [to return] this week.”
Malkin took his last shift with 3:07 remaining in the third period of a 4-3 win at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Dec. 4, when he had two goals and an assist.
He hasn’t played since.
“It’s, like, crazy because I’m not feeling any pain after the game,” Malkin said. “But the next morning I wake up and, like, my upper body, it’s like I can’t move my shoulder. It’s crazy.”
Malkin was originally considered day to day, but the recovery timeline quickly elevated to week to week.
“We feel day by day and, like, I’m back,” Malkin said. “But I can’t move my arm. It’s a little bit tough. Again, I do my best; I work out, recover every day. But it’s not easy. It’s like a weird injury. Not, like, crazy -- it’s small things, but it’s annoying.
“Every day is like pain. The last couple weeks, I do lots of stuff. The last, probably, three or four days, I feel so much better. I hope, again, [to be] back this week.”
At the time of the injury, Malkin was tied for the Penguins lead in points with Sidney Crosby (29 points; 18 goals, 11 assists). Without him, Pittsburgh immediately lost eight straight (0-4-4) from Dec. 7-20.
Crosby now has 47 points (24 goals, 23 assists) in 41 games and has led a recent rebound with 12 points (five goals, seven assists) on a seven-game point streak. Pittsburgh has outscored its opponents 25-12 during its win streak, leaving Malkin to believe it can return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs after missing the previous three seasons.
“I tell you before, we have a great team, great guys here,” Malkin said. “We have a tough, like, seven, eight games before, but now we’re back. It’s a little bit up-and-down right now, but right now, last couple games, guys play amazing. ... When we play right, when we play smart, we can beat any team. We showed [that the] last five games. We play amazing.”
Malkin, when available, is significant; he is third all-time in Penguins history behind Crosby (1,734) and Mario Lemieux (1,723) with 1,375 points (522 goals, 853 assists) in 1,239 games. So, he hopes it doesn’t take long to regain his form.
“If you lost any games, you lost confidence a little bit,” Malkin said. “It’s always nervous [being] back; if you miss over 10 games, it’s probably like your confidence is not great. But I feel great. My body, I work out every day. My legs feel great. I need to play a couple shifts and I think I will be fine. We have a great team. My linemates, teammates support me so much.
“You need to play a little bit and you have your confidence back, for sure. It’s not my first time back from an injury. I’ve played here like 20 years. I know what it’s like feeling [that]. It’s just my body. I want to wake up tomorrow and feel great. And my confidence [will be] back.”
Dan Muse, in his first season as Penguins coach, has seen enough to trust Malkin.
“He’s such a competitor, even today in practice,” Muse said. “He loves to play. He loves to compete. You kind of see how he got to the point that he’s been doing this for so long.
“He’s been putting in a lot of work here, too, just working to get back. The start for him, what he’s done on the ice this year, has been great. It’s been impressive.”
And Malkin picking up where he left off is what’s best.
“Nothing’s changed, you know?” Malkin said. “You see we fight, like, every game to the playoffs. Every team is close. We know it’s, what, 40-plus games left? Just play all of them and, yeah, we have a long break, Olympic break. Be smart, recover your body, still [be] working.
“And after February, it’s [a] big run for us, for sure. Because this year, every team has a chance to make the playoffs.”
