Sullivan urges Malkin to shoot
Evgeni Malkin got off to a hot start this season, putting up 19 points in October to earn one of the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the opening month.
But he was quiet by his standards throughout November, and Sidney Crosby is suddenly nipping at his heels for the Penguins points lead (30-28).
Malkin did not score an evenstrength goal in the month, tallying just five assists in 5-on-5 play. His point total was buoyed a bit by his work on the power play, when he had three goals and added three assists.
After Phil Kessel and Malkin cooled off, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan split them up Tuesday. Kessel now is on a line with Derick Brassard, leaving Malkin with Tanner Pearson and Bryan Rust on Wednesday.
Pearson was the only player who did not practice Friday. Sullivan said it was merely a “maintenance day.” Patric Hornqvist, participating in his first practice since suffering a concussion Nov. 23, took his spot.
Sullivan’s solution to Malkin’s recent struggles shouldn’t come as a surprise: “I’d like to see him shoot the puck a little bit more.”
Sullivan felt Malkin had two “pretty solid efforts” in a win Tuesday win in Winnipeg and a loss Wednesday in Colorado. He felt the new-look Malkin line, while not scoring, had “a lot of offensive-zone time” in Colorado.
“They didn’t get as much out of the effort, and I think a lot of that is just putting the puck on net a little bit more,” Sullivan said. “If they do that, sometimes nothing breaks the coverage down better than a shot on goal, because the rebound goes somewhere and forces decisions.”
The pairing of Brassard and Kessel didn’t accomplish much either in the loss to the Avalanche. Still, they skated together Friday in practice, and Brassard indicated that the plan is to stick with it Saturday when the rival Philadelphia Flyers come to PPG Paints Arena for the first time this season.
“I think we can make it work,” Brassard said. “He’s probably one of the best players in the game making plays off the rush. So I told him I’m going to try to play well in the defensive zone and try to get him the puck in some fastbreaks. … I don’t see why [the line] wouldn’t work.”
Sticking with the Finns
While Sullivan continues to shuffle his forward lines, he actually has found three defensive pairings he likes — for now.
One of those: Olli Maatta with rookie and fellow Finn Juuso Riikola.
“We’ve liked the pair since we’ve put them together,” Sullivan said.
The two were paired together for a little while early in the season as Sullivan tried out several different combinations. Riikola returned to the lineup five games ago and clicked with his steady countryman.
No more mustaches
The end of November means the end of “Movember,” the movement that has men growing mustaches to raise awareness for men’s health issues.
You might have noticed several Penguins sporting sweet ‘staches of late. Among them were Bryan Rust and Riley Sheahan, who said Friday they planned to shave their mustaches once the clock struck midnight, if not sooner.
2009 team to be honored
The Penguins will honor the 2009 Stanley Cup team at the Jan. 6 game against Chris Kunitz and the Chicago Blackhawks at PPG Paints Arena.
The team said all players, coaches and staff members listed on the 2009 Cup have been invited to the game for a 10th anniversary celebration. A number of players and coaches from 2009 are still actively involved with NHL teams but might send video messages to be played during the game.
Crosby, Malkin and Kris Letang, of course, definitely plan to be there. Ditto for Kunitz, who has two points in 20 games with the Blackhawks.