Though the Penguins are coming off of a loss to one of the worst teams in the league, we really haven't had much to complain about this season. The team is still amongst the leaders in the conference and league and have been winning a lot more than they have been losing. That doesn't mean that everything is perfect...at least in the eyes of some folks who just aren't happy unless they can identify the problematic areas of even the sunniest day.
The biggest storm cloud being floated as of late -- "Evgeni Malkin is not shooting the puck enough...nor is he producing at his customary pace."
Well, let me be the first to say that I have indeed noticed Geno passing up far too many shots as of late. In fact, he passed up several wide open opportunities in last night's game alone. He has been forcing passes across the ice to Sidney Crosby or other Penguins in lieu of the shot far too often from prime scoring locations. Now that doesn't mean he isn't shooting at all, as he still seems to finish each game with multiple SOG, it just seems that he might be over thinking things a bit. I chalk that up to having it a rough patch confidence wise, as he hasn't popped a goal in four games and has only two over his last eight.
Now that I got that out of the way, I am going to tell you that we are all worrying about Geno for nothing.
I did some research this afternoon and took a look at the first 24 games of each of Malkin's four seasons...the numbers will surprise you, as they show him to be on pretty much the same pace as he is every year at this time. Sure, he was a little ahead last year, but for the most part, the numbers line up almost perfectly from year to year.
Season
Goals
Assists
Points
SOG
Average PPG
2009-10
8
21
29
94
1.21
2008-09
10
29
39
83
1.63
2007-08
9
21
30
68
1.25
2006-07
14
14
28
83
1.17
Yes, he was ahead of his typical pace last season, but he only finished with seven more points than he had during the 07-08 campaign. He broke 100 points in each season and it is not out of the realm of possibility for him to do it again this season.
The interesting thing is that the biggest criticism has been the fact that he isn't shooting the puck enough. In looking at the numbers, you can see that he has actually launched more shots through 24 games this season than in any other over his entire career to this point. I don't think that is the problem for Malkin. The problem seems to lie in a couple of areas.
First of all, he and Sidney Crosby have actually sort of switched places when it comes to who is playing with the better wingers. It used to be Malkin who was skating with the likes of Ryan Malone, and Petr Sykora, while Crosby took shifts with the likes of Pascal Dupuis. These days, Crosby is skating regularly with Bill Guerin, Chris Kunitz (when healthy), and recently Max Talbot. Talbot, who was such an asset to Malkin in the playoffs is probably the biggest loss, as he is a great puck retriever and is very good at getting the puck back to his center. Crosby is getting a lot more prime scoring opportunities and cashing them in...
Malkin has been skating with Ruslan Fedotenko and even skated with Chris Bourque for a time. Those players were not cashing in Malkin's passes, nor are they creating time or space for him. I really think that is forcing Malkin to slip into a "do it yourself" mentality. He feels that they need to create a perfect play to score goals and starts to overpass the puck. That carries over to the times he actually gets on the ice with Crosby or the power play unit and they miss out on chances because of it.
The goal total isn't all that far off of where it was last season, the disparity is popping up in the assist department, where Malkin had eight more at this point of the season. He has plenty of time to make those up and I am sure he will.
The next area of concern seems to be the power play. We all know that it has been struggling as of late, but is that really a valid excuse?
I think that a case can be made that both Malkin and Crosby could have a much higher level of production if the power play was clicking like it is supposed to be. However, it really isn't that far off of its regular pace either.
Here are the numbers through 24 games for each season that Malkin has been in the league...
Season
Games
Power Play Goals
2009-10
24
18
2008-09
24
18
2007-08
24
24
2006-07
24
24
The bottom line is that, yes, Geno needs to evaluate his decision making in prime scoring locations when it comes to passing or shooting the puck. However, it isn't the end of the world, as the numbers show that he is on a typical pace and will be just fine in the long run. He is launching a ton of shots, showing his deft passing touch and doing all of the things that won him a scoring title last year. The power play will eventually come around and a healthy winger or two will be available to help his cause in a couple of weeks. Plus, let's not rule out Ray Shero's deadline magic, as it has come through the past few seasons for Sidney Crosby!