Michael Bunting objected, a bit, to the premise of the question.
His usual linemate Evgeni Malkin is probably not the same player at 38 as he was at 28. What can he still …
Bunting interrupted the reporter offering the clumsy query.
“Oh… I don’t know,” Bunting said while raising his eyebrows. “He was flying today.”
Malkin, Bunting and other members of the Pittsburgh Penguins were darting around the practice rinks at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry on Wednesday for the second consecutive day following a nine-day break from team activities for the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off tournament.
Seeing Malkin simply moving on the ice at any velocity was a welcomed sight to Bunting and others considering he was sidelined for the team’s previous six games because of a left knee injury.
Sidelined since Jan. 25, Malkin found great benefit from the respite and expects to return to the lineup in the team’s first game following the break, a home contest against the rival Washington Capitals on Saturday.
“I feel good,” Malkin proclaimed. “I (didn’t) play the last (six) games. The break helped me, for sure. I had a couple (of) days rest. A little bit (of a) workout and good practice (Tuesday and Wednesday). Ready to play, for sure, first game against Washington. And again, a little bit rest. I hope — we have, what, 25 games left — a big push for us.
“I’m excited to be back.”
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Currently designated to injured reserve, Malkin all but guaranteed he will be in the lineup on Saturday and even suggested he could have played in a pair of road games against the New York Rangers (Feb. 7) and Philadelphia Flyers (Feb. 8) leading into the break but was kept off the ice as a precaution.
“I (expected) to play in the last game against the Rangers, but like, it’s a little bit dangerous and I know we have (several) days of a break,” Malkin said. “It helped to recover 100%. Yeah, Saturday, for sure.”
Having lost plenty of time in his career following surgical procedures to his right knee, Malkin admitted to some anxiousness over tweaking his left knee.
“I’m glad, after MRI, they said it’s only two or three weeks,” Malkin said. “I breathe better after. Yeah, it looked bad, but I’m glad it’s nothing dangerous and I’m glad to be back.”
It hasn’t been an outstanding season for Malkin, at least not by the prodigious standards he long ago established early in his remarkable tenure as a colonnade of this franchise for nearly two decades.
The 34 points (nine goals, 25 assists) he has scored in 47 games this season look so ordinary for a being who will have two scoring titles and so many other accolades documented on his plaque in the Hockey Hall of Fame one day.
But his teammates still look at him as a dangerous force — to the opposition — offensively.
“I think ‘Geno’ is still one of the top players in this league,” Bunting said. “When he’s going, it’s hard to stop him. Obviously, that injury set him back a little bit the last few games. But it looks like he had a strong break. You wouldn’t even have known he was hurt coming back these last two (practices). He’s been flying. He looks great, and he looks like he’s eager to come back.”
Malkin’s optimism isn’t limited to simply being in the lineup this weekend.
He harbors faith for this flawed team to still reach the postseason, a destination it hasn’t reached since 2022.
At the moment, the Penguins are in eighth place of the Eastern Conference’s Wild Card race with a 23-25-9 record and 55 points. They are six points short of the Red Wings (28-22-5, 61 points), current claimants of the final Wild Card position.
“We have a great start in (the) season,” Malkin said. “Me and (the) team a little bit in trouble. If team plays good, everybody plays good. Washington plays good, (forward Alex Ovechkin) plays good. It’s connected to each other. Of course, I (do) not feel great about my season and team. But still, it’s not over.
“We have 25 games left. Everything can change quick. If we win two, three, four games and make playoffs. Maybe I score, one, two, three goals and we see after (the) season. Now, it’s a little bit early to talk about (the) season and my game. But I hope everything (will) change.”
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Note: Penguins forward Bryan Rust, also designated to injured reserve, indicated he expects to play Saturday as well.