I don't Recognize this Malkin

[Phil68]

Years past we have all seen Malkin not play to his level. A lot of times we find out that he has been playing through an injury which had been 85% of the reason in the past. He started the year Ok almost where he left off last season with his 98 points play.. But this Malkin in the last 10 games is a very slow looking heavy Malkin. Defensive game is way below his actual level and just doesn't pick up speed or control the game. Prior years and even last year Malkin top notch version or not he would control the game, specially on the power play. Which is and was the beauty about having him and Crosby. But this is not good at all. Is this the decline version of Malkin we are seeing? Years past, when either Crosby or Malkin were sort of slumping, coaches would have them play together for a little bit just so they can find their game back.

My question is, what needs to happen with him. Do you guys think he will get out of this terrible state?

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[Pens x]

The entire team seems uninterested. I think Sully has lost the team. Look at Edmonton after they hired Hitchcock. I’d love to see this team get a new coach and right the ship.

The team is just barely staying above water and they’ve played uninspired and uninterested all season and most of last season.

Something has to change; I just hope JR doesn’t make a serious mistake in a trade before he realizes it’s time to move on from Sully.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Oh no, he has had a bad 8 game stretch of games. I guess that means it's time to take him out to the pasture and Old Yeller him. For real though, Malkin started out the year with a 112 point pace through 22 games. He has hit a rough patch recently and has struggled to score goals at ES for the last ~6 weeks. There's no reason to think this is a permanent problem. He's on a cold streak, it's not the end of the world.

The same thing happened to Crosby in 2015, when he only had points in 1 of his first 9 games and only had 9 points in his first 18 games (only had points in 5 of 18 games). What happened the rest of the way? 76 points in 62 games, with having points in 48 of 62 games.

 

[UnderratedBrooks44]

Honestly I think Malkin's biggest problem has always been that he isn't Sid. He goes through more slumps, he loses his composure more often, and he doesn't have the consistency. Sid is just even more of a machine, and it often gets thrown on Malkin.

As far as the here and now, first take a look at the scoring leaders. Sid, Malkin, and Phil are all about the same, and nowhere near the lead. AO and Backstrom are the only guys in that age range that can even see the top of the scoring race from where they're sitting, and they're not close either. The league is going through the changing of the guard it always goes through every decade or so. Nothing is going to stop that no matter how much we root for the guys that we like (or complain about them).

In terms of Malkin himself, he looks like he's lost that extra gear to me, which can happen at age 32. He still does everything well, but when he tries to take on two Dmen there's just nothing there. I think he split them once a few games ago after trying about 4 times a game all year. He just doesn't have the speed he used to have to perform individual feats. Thankfully, he's still very good.

Things change. Players get older. He's not Mario and not quite Sid. That basically sums it up.

 

[Bingo71]

I see frustration more than anything with Geno. Not sure what it is, but he seems to get pissed about things that go on early in a shift and then he just says f*** it and coasts...

 

[Icarium]

He started the year Ok almost where he left off last season with his 98 points play.

He didn't start okay, he was the second star of October. Which makes his current slump all the more frustrating. But he did have a pretty good game against Colorado last week.

Letang not continuing his surprisingly good play on the PP from the start of the season isn't helping matters either. On most other teams a player with Geno's one-timer shot would have so many opportunities to score from his favourite position on the right. In our star-studded PP1 unit he gets a good opportunity for a one-timer from there something like once every five games. It's maddening.

Whatever the problem it is, we need Geno to get over it quickly or we will kiss the playoffs goodbye.

 

[ImporterExporter]

I just can't believe how fast the team seems to have dumped on Sullivan after back to back titles.

Most of them do seem like they're just going through the motions. I think Sid has been lights out of much of the season though. Even Kessel has been playing with more vigor lately.

Maybe it isn't Sullivan and just JR putting the wrong pieces in place (blame is never 100% on a single person). As fans we don't truly know what's going on in the locker room and FO.

But make no mistake, this team, as talented as they are, have no shot at winning a damn thing right now.

 

[Beauner]

Maybe it isn't Sullivan and just JR putting the wrong pieces in place (blame is never 100% on a single person). As fans we don't truly know what's going on in the locker room and FO.

While Sully has his flaws, I do think the roster is flawed. WAY too many passengers. Grant, Sheahan, Cullen, Wilson, ZAR... all perfectly fine as 12th or 13th forawards. But you can't have ALL of them in the lineup at the same time contributing zilch. Even Rust was a passenger before yesterday.

In 16 and 17 you had contributions up and down the lineup. We all weren't fond of Kunitz but he was on a line that produced in 16 with Malkin and Rust and was a crucial part of a game 7 win against Ottawa in 17.

People weren't fond of Rowney during the 17 run but he was the 12/13 guy. Ther roster is just littered with guys who should really be either 4th liners or scratches

 

[Empoleon8771]

While Sully has his flaws, I do think the roster is flawed. WAY too many passengers. Grant, Sheahan, Cullen, Wilson, ZAR... all perfectly fine as 12th or 13th forawards. But you can't have ALL of them in the lineup at the same time contributing zilch. Even Rust was a passenger before yesterday.

Do you know what's funny about all of those players you listed outside of Wilson? They all have the same or more ES goals than Malkin in the last 6 weeks. But yeah, they're the passengers and they're the problem on this team.

Malkin and Kessel have combined for 3 ES goals in their last 44 games combined. Maybe you should start looking there for a source for the problems with this team recently. The bottom-6? They've been kicking ass for a while now, they're doing their jobs fantastically.

 

[Beauner]

Do you know what's funny about all of those players you listed outside of Wilson? They all have the same or more ES goals than Malkin in the last 6 weeks. But yeah, they're the passengers and they're the problem on this team.

Malkin and Kessel have combined for 3 ES goals in their last 44 games combined. Maybe you should start looking there for a source for the problems with this team recently. The bottom-6? They've been kicking ass for a while now, they're doing their jobs fantastically.

saying the rest of the roster is flawed isn't saying Malkin and Kessel aren't playing like crap.

 

[ImporterExporter]

Yeah, Malkin has been trash most of the year, getting to the thread title. I don't care about the points. He's been coasting often and just looks like gives zero shits.

 

[Pancakes]

Pretty sure he'll still end up with 80-90 points by the end of the year. I'll need to see this type of play for a full season before I get concerned.

 

[Empoleon8771]

saying the rest of the roster is flawed isn't saying Malkin and Kessel aren't playing like crap.

The rest of the roster isn't flawed though, if they continue playing like they have been playing recently. The only "flaw" on the roster is a lack of a great puck mover who is good enough to be a primary puck mover on the 2nd pair, which is due to Schultz's injury. The only other flaw might be Brassard being ill-suited for a 3C role.

 

[EightyOne]

I'm uninterested. The team. The boards.

 

[Will Hunting]

Oh no, he has had a bad 8 game stretch of games. I guess that means it's time to take him out to the pasture and Old Yeller him. For real though, Malkin started out the year with a 112 point pace through 22 games. He has hit a rough patch recently and has struggled to score goals at ES for the last ~6 weeks. There's no reason to think this is a permanent problem. He's on a cold streak, it's not the end of the world.

The same thing happened to Crosby in 2015, when he only had points in 1 of his first 9 games and only had 9 points in his first 18 games (only had points in 5 of 18 games). What happened the rest of the way? 76 points in 62 games, with having points in 48 of 62 games.

He´s been basically the worst player on ice in those games though.. It´s not only that he´s not producing, he is often one or two steps behind the play and taking penalties. He´s been also a huge liability defensively. Right now as he is, he is just playing unhealthy hockey. With Sid, he has 3 games without a point too now, but it´s much different, his hockey is still healthy. Malkin´s is unhealthy and he is hurting a team actively with it. Saying it´s not a concern is understatement, imo. There should be a concern at this point. He has had bad stretches in the past, but this looks kinda different. Basically worst games of his career, imo.

 

[Will Hunting]

And I don´t know.. During those previous bad stretches, I never doubted him.. Never... This one?.. I am a bit worried for the first time. Might still be nothing but I am not that sure. It´s way too long and way too bad. Maybe it´s nothing, but might be something. And who knows what it is then. Sabotaging the coach? Being injured? Declining? Time will tell, I guess. But we need Geno back, this team as it is, is probably going nowhere even with good ole Geno. But with this version of him, we might as well miss the playoffs and that would look ugly.

 

[ziggyjoe212]

He's 32. He's past his prime.

Sure he's still "capable" of dominating like he did in October, but he's not what he was in his 20's. Neither is Sid. With that being said, it's fair to expect more than yesterday's version.

 

[EightyOne]

He's 32. Has a kid. A wife. Three Stanley Cups. Multiple individual awards. Multiple injuries. And usually playing with less than ideal wingers.

He's obviously supremely talented, but, is his passion hockey or was hockey a means to success for him and his family? Get good at hockey or get good at mining?

I'm mostly being devil's advocate here. Not trying to question his compete and motivation level...But maybe?

 

[ColePens]

Came here to write slumps happen and I trust Geno. I was going to use Sid's start in 2015 as example. It's already been done, thus im no longer needed.

 

[Will Hunting]

Came here to write slumps happen and I trust Geno. I was going to use Sid's start in 2015 as example. It's already been done, thus im no longer needed.

Hopefully you are right and most probably you are. There are definitely more red flags here in this case than in your Sid´s example, though.

 

[billybudd]

Meh. Geno's playing sloppy hockey, but that's just a thing he sometimes does, sometimes for weeks at a time. As annoyed as I was with that hooking penalty in the third period, plays like that are not new with 71.

I don't see a "lack of effort," I see a guy who loses focus at times and makes occasional bonehead plays. You live with that because he's more than a point a game player, even when he's not playing particularly well.

Malkin's "bad" season still has him in a position to put up 90 points, so a little perspective is needed.

 

[ColePens]

I see a complete lack of confidence. That's what I see. He fumbles the puck a lot. He passes up shots. He overpasses. He has no clue where his mates are. He's just struggling. That's all.

 

[pistolpete11]

I swear this happens every year. All of it. Geno (and Sid) play uninspired hockey for a stretch. The Pens struggle as a team. Fans create threads that it's the end. Then Geno snaps out of it with a big game, goes on a tear, and the Pens finish inside the playoffs and Geno ends up in the top 10 scoring (at least per game). It would almost be uncomfortable if it didn't happen some year.

 

[Will Hunting]

I swear this happens every year. All of it. Geno (and Sid) play uninspired hockey for a stretch. The Pens struggle as a team. Fans create threads that it's the end. Then Geno snaps out of it with a big game, goes on a tear, and the Pens finish inside the playoffs and Geno ends up in the top 10 scoring (at least per game). It would almost be uncomfortable if it didn't happen some year.

Hopefully it´s just one of those threads. And hopefully more of those threads are about to come in the future. But there will be a time when one of those threads will not be the same as those previous threads.

 

[Gurglesons]

I see a complete lack of confidence. That's what I see. He fumbles the puck a lot. He passes up shots. He overpasses. He has no clue where his mates are. He's just struggling. That's all.

I think we are on the same page with Sully. But, I wish he’d swap up the linemates.

Even putting ZAR and Dea with him might give him a break because Pearson and him seem like oil and water right now.