NEW YORK -- Whether Evgeni Malkin had scored two points or 20 Wednesday night in the Penguins' 7-2 win over the Rangers, nothing was going to put a smile on the big Russian's face.
Tragedy back home visibly weighed heavily on him before and after the game.
"I feel like before the game I need to score for my hometown, Magnitogorsk," Malkin was saying after the game.
Wednesday was an official day of mourning in the Russian federal subject of Chelyabinsk Oblast, where his hometown of Magnitogorsk, an industrial city of 400,000, is located. On New Year's Eve, an explosion, believed to have been caused by a faulty gas line, collapsed a 10-story building and killed at least 37 people.
Before the game, Malkin inscribed on his large Bauer skates a message: "Magnitogorsk we are with you,” on one and "Magnitogorsk you are in my heart" on the other.
Few players were more eager than Malkin to turn the page on 2018 after the way it ended for him professionally.
Since the Nov. 14 trade of linemate Carl Hagelin for Tanner Pearson, Malkin's game had plummeted.
Even as his teammates turned the Penguins' season around with a 12-2-1 run, he's been conspicuously quiet. In those 15 games beginning on Dec.4, Malkin had just three goals and 10 points, half of which came on the power play.
"When team wins, my confidence is always a little bit better but it's been tough games for me," Malkin was saying.
Part of the problem has been just the natural ebbs and flows of the season. Malkin has had similar stretches before. But he's never had one where he's also been a minus-14 which, if the season ended today, would be a career-worst by far. His Corsi For percentage of 49.5 is his worst since 2008-09, his third season.
The bigger problem has been finding a suitable left winger. After combining with Pearson for four goals in November, it's been a struggle. The former King has since been skating on the third line, trying to rejuvenate Derick Brassard, the Penguins' other slumping center.
In Pearson's place, Sullivan has had Dominik Simon on the second line with Malkin and Patric Hornqvist the past six games. Though Simon has found past success with Sidney Crosby, finding chemistry with Malkin has proven harder.
"For sure, when you're playing on the first two lines, you've got to produce," Simon was saying.
Following Wednesday's morning skate, Sullivan was asked if there was any correlation between Malkin's slump and the trade of Hagelin. It might, was the coach's response but "Geno is surrounded by good players. We think he has what he needs to be successful."
It remains to be seen if the second line will be successful but Wednesday was at least progress.
On Simon's goal at 15:45 of the second period, Hornqvist gained the zone and dropped a pass back to Malkin waiting along the left wall at the blue line. With Vladislav Namestnikov closing in on him, Malkin spotted Simon driving for the net. Malkin fed him a seam pass that sent the Czech on a partial breakaway where he beat Henrik Lundqvist to the blocker side to make it 4-1:
"They're unbelievable players, with Horny, it's always nice to play with them," Simon said. "Either you find a spot or give them a puck. They are crazy-good players. It's fun to play with them. They were unreal."
Like Hagelin, Simon is not a natural goal scorer. But he can do it. That, above, was his fifth of the season and first in 16 games.
Simon is also not as fast as Hagelin -- not many are -- but he can skate. On the goal, you'll see that Simon makes a center-drive, similar to what Hagelin would typically do.
I asked Malkin about his chemistry with Simon:
"I think today it's better, for sure," Malkin said. "We score a couple goals. We need to play better for sure. The second line of the team, we need to help a little bit, give us a push. We just scored tonight a couple of goals, but before tonight we didn't score in a long time. I understand it's my fault. I'm not playing great. If I start playing better, my linemates ... they give me help and I help them and we'll play so much better. I feel like it's all about me. I hope the goal gives me a little gap next game and my confidence is back."
He mentioned "gap," which could apply to Simon as well. If Simon can drive to the net with speed consistently, that would peel defenders off Malkin and give him more time and space to create. That's when Malkin has been at his best.
Well, that and when he's doing things like this:
Though the finish on Malkin's goal at 1:03 of the third wasn't particularly impressive, sometimes that's all it takes to break out of a slump. It's the effort that counts. Malkin dipsy-doodled his way around Adam McQuaid, drawing a holding penalty, as the puck squirted off his stick and under Lundqvist, who simply whiffed on a poke check.
It was just the second even-strength goal Malkin has scored since Halloween and first since Dec. 4. He is averaging just 1.03 points per game this season which would be his lowest since 2014-15 (1.01), Mike Johnston's last full season as coach.
Sullivan has always been able to bring out the best in Malkin and there's no reason to think he can't again. With Malkin, he's too good to fail.
"I thought it was one of his better games of late," Sullivan was saying. "I really liked his line. They're showing signs of chemistry. They had offensive chances. We think that line has the potential to be really good. We think Geno's game is trending in the right direction. It's nice for him to get rewarded on the scoresheet. Hopefully, that'll be a big boost of confidence for him."
