PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Nearly two decades into a Hall of Fame career, Evgeni Malkin says he needs a change. Not a chance of scenery, rather he needs to change his game. It’s something he’s come to realize over the course of the season.
The 37-year-old center says he is attempting to play smarter than he ever has. He has come to realize he can’t be the same player he was when he won the Hart Trophy as a 25-year-old.
“We have seen Geno trying to make adjustments to his game,” said Pens head coach Mike Sullivan. “I think there have been moments where he’s very good at it.”
Sullivan said it’s not a conversation that was generated this week. Rather they’ve had these talks ‘over the last little while’. With him for the last nine seasons, Sullivan said Malkin is still an elite player in the NHL. He believes he still has the ability to drive offense, but he needs to use his experience to make him faster and more efficient and in turn, it will make it easier.
It’s much like you might here a 10-year veteran NFL defensive back discuss how knowledge of the game helps him keep up with faster receivers. The analogy might be an MLB pitcher explaining why he can still be effective even if he’s lost speed off his fastball.
“A lot of that is just understanding what the scheme is and working collectively with the four other guys on the ice so that there is collective effort,” Sullivan said Tuesday. “That he’s not taking the puck and doing his thing as a one-man band. He’s capable of that at times, but he’s also capable to playing within the framework of the team concept.”
“I think when he does that, he doesn’t chase the game as much. The game comes to him and then he has the ability to act on his talent. I still believe Geno has elite talent and is capable of driving a lot of offense for us.”
Sullivan said Malkin is highly intelligent and understands he needs to rethink what winning looks like. Not just as an individual, but as a team. They don’t have the speed they once had, but each believe the skill is still there to make a run.
“I believe in this team,” Malkin said. “I believe we can beat any team. We are not happy with how we started game in Winnipeg, but the second and third period we had a chance and played better. We need to be focused the whole 60 minutes.”
Malkin has been frustrated and at times his head coach hears about it. Sullivan said he’s fine with his second-line center’s frustrations. He calls it Geno being authentic and sincere about sharing his feelings.
“We understand we are not where we need to be and we have a lot of work in front of us,” Sullivan said. “We have to be up to the task. That’s the challenge. We got to get excited about that challenge. We have to be eager to be willing to play the game a certain way so we can overcome that challenge. I believe the team is capable of doing it and Geno does also.”
“We still have a chance, the season is not over,” Malkin said. “30 games left, if we win most of the games it’s a good chance to make the playoffs. We need to focus every game.”
“We still believe in this group. We believe we will make the playoffs. I believe in my teammates. It’s a tough season for sure. We are not happy where we are at. But we still have a chance.”
Currently the Pens are in seventh place in the Metropolitan Division and Malkin is 70th in goals scored. He believes both will change and so does one of his longtime teammates.
“I have 100% faith in Geno every single year, every single time,” said defenseman Kris Letang. “I never doubt him. He’s a hell of a player. I bet he is going to respond with big games.”