A vote of no confidence
Error-prone Malkin knows where blame lies for his prolonged slump . . . and he points to himself
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Evgeni Malkin raised his right hand and tapped his temple a few times with his index finger.
While the Russian center has been frustrated with his skates and has been tinkering with other parts of his equipment, looking for anything that might work, Malkin wanted to make sure everyone knew from where the issue truly stemmed.
“[Equipment isn’t] my problem,” Malkin said. “The problem is in my head.”
It seems difficult to comprehend, but the guy who led the NHL in scoring from Jan. 1 of last year through the end of the 2017-18 regular season, the guy who will eventually be enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame, the guy whose number should be hung from the rafters at PPG Paints Arena, is struggling with his confidence.
Malkin talked after practice Thursday and gave a blunt assessment of where things stand with his season. In a nutshell, he’s not happy. And the past two games have added to the frustration.
“The last two games have not been my best games,” Malkin said. “It’s a little bit frustrating right now. It’s tough. … I try to beat a couple guys in the neutral zone one-on-one, and I lose pucks. We have turnovers and play in the defensive zone. I need to change my game a little bit.”
Before practice Thursday, Malkin sat down with a few members of the Penguins coaching staff, and reviewed his play of late.
What they saw was a talented player trying to do entirely too much, someone who was falling down more than he should and, again, someone who lacked confidence.
Even if that might seem hard to believe for a guy who led the Penguins last year in goals (42) and points (98).
“It’s funny because I think a lot of people would draw that conclusion, that a
“[Equipment isn’t] my problem. The problem is in my head.” — Evgeni Malkin
guy as accomplished as Geno is — he’s one of the premier players in the league — how could he possibly struggle with confidence?” coach Mike Sullivan said.
“I think it just goes to show that all these guys are human. They go through a rash of emotions like all of us do. When they don’t play up to their expectations, which is very high, then sometimes players of that stature struggle with confidence.”
The skates haven’t helped. Malkin said he got new ones recently, and they haven’t felt right. Finally at Thursday’s practice, he stopped trying and went back to the old ones.
He’s also been screwing around with different gloves and sticks, but Malkin refuses to blame his gear. The problem — three even-strength goals in 36 games since Nov. 1, a 25goal pace that would qualify as the worst full-season mark of his career — is his and his alone.
“When you’re not confident, you change everything,” Malkin said. “You change your gloves, sticks. It’s fine. The team’s playing well. I just need to change my game; I’d like to play better.”
To fix his game, Malkin knows he needs to stay on his feet more and force fewer plays. The skates should help some with that as Malkin feels a lot more confident and comfortable on them. That much was evident Thursday.
He also could get a new linemate. Although Sullivan might tweak things if Patric Hornqvist comes back against the Arizona Coyotes Friday night, Sullivan had Malkin skating alongside Phil Kessel at practice Thursday.
It’s been a while since those two really clicked, which means they could be due for some fireworks.
With or without Kessel, though, Sullivan and the other coaches want Malkin to simplify his game, take fewer risks and probably fire a few more shots on net.
“No turnovers,” added Malkin, who leads the Penguins in giveaways this season with 43. “Last game, I tried to [challenge] two [different] guys. It doesn’t work right now. You need to play simple, use your linemates. Maybe chip pucks in the offensive zone. Play simple. Score a couple goals, and confidence is back.”
After back-to-back games Friday and Saturday, the Penguins don’t play again for nine days because of the bye week and All-Star break. Malkin would really like to have something good to think about during that time.
“A little bit, for sure,”