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The penguins have won four games. Sidney Crosby is hot out of the gate with seven points in the first six games.
Kasperi Kapanen is back on the team and is in good shape. Goalkeeper Tristan Jarry seems to have stabilized after a shaky start in the network. Despite numerous injuries, the blue line stayed afloat. And the bottom six strikers scored a better hit than expected.
At the 4-2 start to the season there is not much to complain about after the first weekend in Philadelphia.
Well, unless you picked them to ever win by multiple goals. They haven’t done that yet and racked up two shootout wins, an overtime win, and a 3-2 decision on New York Rangers Sunday.
It could take Evgeni Malkin to be on the right track before this happens. Malkin finding his step may be the Penguins’ biggest missing ingredient in 2021. He has only one goal and one assist so far this season. In addition, No. 71 is a minus-4 and has only managed one shot on goal in the last two games against the Rangers.
On Monday, Madden-Benz: Unfiltered, TribLive columnist Mark Madden and I discussed concerns that Malkin’s wife and son lived in Florida. Maybe he’s mentally in the dumps.
But I don’t think that should be an excuse once the games start. After all, Pen’s Radio Network host Brian Metzer told us on this week’s hockey podcast that the Malkin family can commute between Florida and Pittsburgh « like you and me to Monroeville. »
Let me stop Brian right there. It’s much easier to fly into Florida than going through the Squirrel Hill Tunnel at rush hour.
But when Metzer went on, he said « there might be something wrong » as he wondered about Malkin’s emotional state due to geographical separation from family.
« If he doesn’t perform the way he wants, he goes home to this large estate, » said Metzer. « He’s jumping around on his own. Nothing is open in Pittsburgh. So he has to go home and wallow in his self-pity with no one around.
However, as Metzer points out through social media posts, Malkin’s wife and child were in the first games of the season. So this cannot be a comprehensive explanation.
Hey, as far as I’m concerned, this guy just needs to take more pictures. And a few online too.
Like Madden, Metzer likes the idea that Kapanen is following Malkin’s line. But Jason Zucker has to help Malkin a little. He has only one assist in the first six games.
« It was a combination that clicked well in the training camp, » said Metzer. « But it didn’t work out well in the early stages of this season. Zucker had a lot of chances to score in the first three or four games. And I feel like he’s been almost invisible in the last two games against Rangers. »
On today’s podcast, we also watch the Bruins squeeze out seven points in their first five games. We also talk about Pierre-Olivier Joseph’s solid start to his NHL career, Brandon Tanev’s versatility, and Evan Rodrigues’ injury.
Tim Benz is a contributor to Tribune Review. You can contact Tim at [email protected] or on Twitter. All tweets could be republished. All emails are free to post, unless otherwise noted.
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