That’s how you start a tough five-game stretch of hockey. The Penguins were tremendous in Tampa Bay and specifically Evgeni Malkin. Geno Machino is firing on all cylinders and he looks like he is a twenty-something again. When he’s got the gallop going you know things are going well. All these years later I still perk up when I see the early strides of his trademark skating style. It’s fun and effective. Here’s to hoping it doesn’t disrupt the chemistry of the team.
Malkin’s goal last night was memory adjacent to his slap shot breakaway on Martin Biron many years ago. This time he didn’t get blown up by a huge check or hang at the far blue line, but the finish had the same vigor. It also reminds me of his spinorama goal against Edmonton in how he doggedly harassed the puck carrier before forcing a turnover and scoring a great goal.
Given the fact Geno looks like he found a fountain of youth it is hard to not think about what this could look like if the team found him a new winger. This is something that needs to be done. It is a must. It was no guarantee Malkin would look this way after major knee surgery at the age of 35, but here we are. Ron Hextall and Brian Burke need to earn their keep by adding to this team. First round pick? Adios. Literally any prospect somebody wants? Adios. Kasperi Kapanen? Bye bye. It isn’t like the Penguins have a lot to deal, but the little they do they need to use and not think twice about it. Getting two powerhouse offensive lines would be great and create matchup difficulties. Right now it is mostly Geno doing it all on the second line.
I say the following in half-jest, but admit it, the chances are greater than zero for a Kasperi Kapanen, Mike Matheson, and a 2022 1st round pick for JT Miller trade to happen.
“You mean I GET a first round pick for Kasperi Kapanen?!…
Throw in both Poulin and Legare for all I care.
Some other thoughts from last night:
The Penguins had one of their best power plays of the season last night. It was absolute perfection. It was crisp, quick, with simple decision making. It was aesthetically pleasing, but not fancy. Great talents carving up the PK with the basics. Obviously, their high skill created some of the time and space in accepting pucks and their high hockey IQ relieving pressure by knowing what gap to fill, but it wasn’t a high risk power play and it was deadly.
This doesn’t come close to showing the entirety of the great sequence they had. It was a real joy to watch.
Kris Letang and Brayden Point’s frustrations boiled over with a fight last night. I hated to see it. The risk is definitely not worth the reward. Letang’s health is way too important to the team’s success and ability to make a run at the Stanley Cup. Losing him to a fighting injury would be the absolute worst.
The entire game was fun last night. One part of it was watching Sidney Crosby and Victor Hedman going at it down low. They both do everything right and to see both players executing exactly what they want against one another made for quality entertainment. There were situations where if it was anybody else each of them would have won the battle and easily made their play. For example, Crosby had speed going around the net and on any other night he would have been gone because the defender was flat-footed, but it was Hedman and he caught him quickly and forced 87 to do a quick fake back and then explode forward towards the far corner. Hedman didn't bite and caught him again. You don't see people catch 87 often like that. Then Crosby survived a Hedman poke check most any other player would have lost possession on. Those are some elite battles you don’t always get to see. It looks mundane to a casual fan. It was far from it.
Jon Cooper was ejected for arguing with Wes McCauley last night.
As per usual I don’t think the referees were all that great and sifting through the player’s behaviors. They do a better job of enabling these situations than diffusing them. This time the Lightning were on the wrong side of the negligence. That said, this is old hat for Cooper
Tampa Bay Lightning HC Jon Cooper is the first NHL head coach to be ejected for 'abuse of an official' since 2018, per @SNstats 😳pic.twitter.com/VdJYU58CfA
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) March 4, 2022
Thanks for reading!