CRANBERRY, Pa. -- "I liked it better when it was COVID!" Evgeni Malkin jokingly shouted when I asked him if he'd be talking with the media following practice Friday at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.
Malkin, of course, was referring to the previous two seasons when media access to locker rooms was nonexistent. Nevertheless, he plopped down at his stall and embraced the reporters rushing to crowd around him and ask him questions.
Since the very first day Malkin showed up in Pittsburgh for informal skates before the start of training camp this year, a giant smile has been plastered on his face. During Friday's practice, he was smiling and laughing, keeping things light less than a day after coming out of the gates with an extremely strong performance the previous night in the Penguins' 6-2 victory over the Coyotes.
"Yeah, we’re all kids here," Malkin responded when I asked if he's having the most fun he's had out on the ice in quite some time. "We still have fun every day we play against each other, we’re joking around. We’re like kids, but we’re big kids. Have fun every day, not just on the ice, it’s locker room, plane, and hotels. Try and enjoy life."
Mike Sullivan agreed that Malkin seems to be having a blast every second right now.
"I think you can see it in his body language in practice," Sullivan told me. "I don’t know if you guys caught when they announced the roster when he went on the ice (last night), he did the skate of the whole circle, high-fiving everybody. I think that’s an indication of where his mindset is. I think he’s excited to continue to build on an impressive legacy that he’s built here with some of his teammates."
Playful as ever, it's impossible to ignore just how happy Malkin is not only to still be with the Penguins, but to still be with his "brothers" Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang.
Malkin recorded a goal on the power play Thursday night off the back of seven shot attempts and four high-danger chances in a little over 16 minutes of ice-time. Malkin said there were some first-game jitters, but that wasn't apparent to the naked eye in the slightest.
"It’s the first game, you’re always nervous," Malkin said. "We haven’t played in four months, I was a little bit nervous yesterday, for sure. It’s great, we played unbelievable, I think. Everyone’s excited, we played at home, big crowd. Again, me, Tanger, Sid, we’ve played 17 years together, it’s a big moment for us too. (Another) huge game against Tampa, we’ll be good. Every day, every game we should be better, not just against teams like Arizona, we need to play better every game against the Rangers, against Tampa. Show what we can do every day."
At least part of the success Malkin had against the Coyotes was thanks to his linemates Bryan Rust and Jason Zucker, who did a lot of the dirty work to allow Malkin to do what he does best. They were just as good -- if not better -- than the Penguins' top line, as they out-shot and out-chanced the opposition to a dominant degree at 5-on-5.
"I know Rusty, I know Zuck pretty well," Malkin said. "Play the same game like yesterday and we’ll be fine. I feel so much better from last year, my knee is stronger, my body is stronger. This year is very important for me. I know that. … I know I’m not young anymore, but I have more experience. I have had a great career, but I want to show my best again. I’m not done."
Malkin's skating, in particular, has looked phenomenal. I've long suspected he's in for a big season, and the hunger he shared with the media on Friday only solidifies that belief.
He'll have the opportunity to continue showing he's not done yet when the Penguins host the Lightning at PPG Paints Arena Saturday night.
MORE FROM PRACTICE
• Teddy Blueger once again skated with the team during practice, but it was once again in a limited capacity as he donned a white non-contact jersey. Blueger has been out for a couple of weeks with an upper-body injury. He's visibly frustrated with the way his rehab is going and that he is missing the start of the regular season.
He has been putting in extra work before the group sessions with skills coach Ty Hennes, and he looks pretty good out there without any visible physical limitations, but his role in practice wasn't much more than forming a fourth D-pairing with Chad Ruhwedel and rotating in with the first penalty-kill unit.
It's unlikely that Blueger suits up Saturday.
• The lines and D-pairings utilized during practice were unchanged from Thursday's victory:
Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Rickard Rakell
Jason Zucker - Evgeni Malkin - Bryan Rust
Danton Heinen - Jeff Carter - Kasperi Kapanen
Brock McGinn - Ryan Poehling - Josh Archibald
Brian Dumoulin - Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson - Jeff Petry
P.O Joseph - Jan Rutta
Teddy Blueger - Chad Ruhwedel
• And the special teams personnel ...
PP1: Crosby, Guentzel, Rust, Malkin, Letang
PP2: Carter, Zucker, Heinen, Rakell, Petry
PK1: Poehling, Archibald, Dumoulin, Rutta (Blueger rotated in)
PK2: McGinn, Kapanen, Pettersson, Joseph
• Poehling drawing into the lineup Thursday was the first time in his career he dressed for opening night in the NHL.
"It was a lot of fun," Poehling told me. "Fans were energetic and I think our team was too. I think we saw a lot of good things and I think it’s a good starting point to build on, and we also saw some things that we can work on. All in all, it’s a fun team to be a part of and it was exciting to get the first win out of the way last night."
Poehling has been given the chance to make an impact on the penalty kill early on in the absence of Blueger. Both of the goals the Coyotes scored Thursday came with a Penguins skater sitting in the penalty box, but Poehling believes they were rather solid despite a couple of miscues that led to the goals.
"I thought we did a good job, we just had a couple of breakdowns and that’s where they took advantage of it," he said. "That’s what happens in this league, so I think limiting that and just pressuring up ice. We had a few PKs where we did pressure up ice and it was harder for them to settle in, and I think if we can do that – If you’re not killing in your zone for the majority of the power play, that’s a big thing we focus on."
• 2022 first-round pick defenseman Owen Pickering was named captain of his junior team, the Swift Current Broncos of the WHL, on Friday. That shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who has taken a second to listen to him speak. Taylor Haase has more on that here.
• Taylor will have your coverage for Saturday's morning skate, then Dejan Kovacevic and I will join her at PPG Paints Arena in the evening for the game against the Lightning.
