It was, the way Dominik Simon saw it, simply "amazing."
Evgeni Malkin shrugged it off as nothing more than"hockey instincts."
But Bryan Rust might have had the best explanation for how Malkin made the no-look drop pass to him that set up the Penguins' third goal in their 7-3 victory against the Wild at PPG Paints Arena Tuesday night.
The most imaginative one, anyway.
"He's Russian," Rust said. "He's got like three eyes, or something."
He might have a point, because that assist did border on being other-worldly.
Malkin carried the puck from near the Penguins' blue line down the left side into the Minnesota end, being badgered by Wild center Mikko Koivu from behind most of the way.
As defenseman Jonas Brodin closed in on him from the right side, Malkin threw a blind, backhand pass into the slot -- and right onto the stick of Rust, who carried it to near the left hash mark before throwing a shot past goalie Devan Dubnyk:
"He somehow sees me following up the play, he draws in both defenders, spins around and puts it right on my tape," Rust said.
Which is pretty much what Malkin was hoping those instincts would allow him to do.
"I couldn't see him," he said. "It was just a hope pass. But I felt he was behind me."
Malkin has had -- and inspired -- lots of those good feelings this season.
He had two goals and that exceptional assist against Minnesota, his third consecutive multi-point game and his 14th of the season:
"I'm confident right now," Malkin said.
With good reason.
"There aren't many guys in this league who can dominate the way he can," said Sidney Crosby, who is something of an authority on the subject. "He was great again. He's been playing awesome hockey."
Malkin has 15 goals and 47 points in 33 games and, as usual, has done some of his best work when Crosby has been out of the lineup.
In the past, Malkin's productivity has declined when Crosby has returned from an extended absence, like the 28-game stretch he just missed while recovering from surgery to repair a sports hernia.
This time, though, Malkin didn't cede the spotlight when Crosby came back. In fact, he did no worse than share it.
Oh, Crosby was typically spectacular -- he's had more four-point return-from-injury games than most guys will have under any circumstances over the course of their career -- but Malkin matched his brilliance.
And while a 60-minute snapshot isn't a large enough sample size on which to base any firm conclusions, if Malkin can keep his game at its current level, the Penguins could be even more formidable this spring than their 29-12-5 record suggests they will be.
Mike Sullivan, for one, believes Malkin can do that.
Expects him to, even.
"I think he will," Sullivan said. "(Malkin) has had a certain drive since Day 1 of training camp this year. He's really elevated his play through the course of the first part of the season, when we've had to endure all of these injuries, and he's a huge part of the amount of wins that we've been able to accumulate."
Rust seems equally confident about Malkin sustaining his current level of play.
"You can see in his game, every time he comes to the rink, he's excited to be at the rink," he said. "You can see him out there doing all the little things -- playing defensively, playing hard offensively, making plays. I have no doubt he can keep that going."
Malkin downplayed the impact of Crosby's return on his game -- "It doesn't matter if Sid plays or doesn't play," he said. "I try to do my best." -- but in theory, having Crosby back should benefit him, because opposing coaches again will be forced to diffuse their defensive focus.
Concentrate on neutralizing Crosby, and Malkin just might pile up points. Fixate on containing Malkin, and Crosby could take over the game in a matter of a few shifts.
"I think (Malkin) and Sid have the ability to be the best 1-2 punch in the game," Sullivan said. "Or 1 and 1A, I should say. They're both generational talents. They were both really good tonight and I don't see why that couldn't occur moving forward."
Certainly, they are counting on nothing less from Crosby. The best evidence of that is the way Crosby's four-point night generated more "Sid-being-Sid" reactions among his co-workers than expressions of wonderment.
"It's hard to get surprised by what Sid accomplishes on the ice, when you watch what he's been able to do," Sullivan said.
That the Penguins are a better team with Crosby in the lineup defies contention; whether they can match the pace at which they piled up points while he was out is far less certain.
They went 18-6-4 while he was recovering from his operation; that projects to 117 points over an 82-game season, which would be just two shy of the franchise record set in 1992-93.
"We know there's a lot of hockey left," Sullivan said. "And it's the hardest hockey, the second half of the season."
Getting Crosby back helps, but the Penguins still are missing top-four defensemen Brian Dumoulin and Justin Schultz, as well as center Nick Bjugstad and all-star winger Jake Guentzel.
All except Guentzel are expected back during the regular season. All will be counted on to contribute at least as much as those who have taken their places have.
"It's just part of a continuing journey that this group is on," Sullivan said. "For me, the train is moving. Everybody's got to jump on it when they get back in the lineup. I think that's how everybody looks at it."
No matter how many eyes they do it with.
• The Penguins are 20-4-2 against Western Conference opponents. They just might become the first team to win a conference of which it is not a member.
• Because of a blunder by coach Bruce Boudreau, the Wild played with five defensemen. Boudreau put forward Ryan Donato on his lineup card instead of defenseman Greg Pateryn. When the error was caught before the opening faceoff, Pateryn was sent to the locker room. Donato made it onto the bench during the first period and eventually logged 4:59 of ice time on seven shifts.
• Kris Letang's assist on Malkin's second goal was his 400th with the Penguins, making him the sixth player -- and first defenseman -- in team history to reach that milestone. The guys ahead of him on that list are Mario Lemieux, Crosby, Malkin, Jaromir Jagr and Ron Francis.
• Rust also had an assist, giving him career highs in goals (19) and points (40) in just his first 32 games.
• Alex Galchenyuk and Simon each scored just his fifth of the season, but this was the second time in 2 1/2 weeks that they got goals in the same game. Those two also did it Dec. 27 in Nashville.
• Zach Parise scored Minnesota's first and third goals. The one that spoiled Tristan Jarry's shutout bid at 17:17 of the second period was his first since Dec. 17.
• Jared McCann, who got the Penguins' second goal, has scored in three consecutive games, a career-high.
• The Penguins have won five consecutive games against Minnesota, the longest such streak in franchise history. They haven't lost to the Wild since Oct. 28, 2017 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
THE INJURIES
• Nick Bjugstad (core muscle surgery)
• Brian Dumoulin (ankle surgery)
• Jake Guentzel (shoulder surgery)
• Justin Schultz (unspecified lower-body)
THE LINEUPS
Sullivan’s lines and pairings:
Jared McCann -- Sidney Crosby -- Dominik Simon
Dominik Kahun -- Evgeni Malkin -- Bryan Rust
Alex Galchenyuk -- Andrew Agozzino -- Patric Hornqvist
Zach Aston-Reese -- Teddy Blueger -- Brandon Tanev
Jack Johnson -- Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson -- John Marino
Juuso Riikola -- Chad Ruhwedel
And for Bruce Boudreau's Wild:
Jason Zucker -- Eric Staal -- Mats Zuccarello
Zach Parise -- Mikko Koivu -- Kevin Fiala
Marcus Foligno -- Joel Eriksson Ek -- Luke Kunin
Jordan Greenway -- Victor Rask -- Ryan Hartman
Ryan Suter -- Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin -- Mat Dumba
Carson Soucy -- Greg Pateryn
THE SCHEDULE
The Penguins will practice in Cranberry Wednesday at noon before flying to Boston, where they will face the Bruins Thursday at 7:08 p.m. at TD Garden.
THE COVERAGE
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PHOTO GALLERY
Penguins vs. Minnesota Wild, Jan. 14, 2020, PPG Paints Arena. - AP / GETTY
