Evgeni Malkin gets 3 points in return as Penguins beat Ducks

One of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ biggest players made a long-awaited return to the lineup.

It had been multiple months since the last time he played in a game of consequence for the team.

And with so many players out of the lineup due to various medical maladies, he was desperately needed.

Anthony Angello, all 6-foot-5 and 210 pounds of him, made his season debut Tuesday, one day after being recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.

And sure enough, the fourth-liner helped the Penguins to a 4-1 road win against the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center.

Also contributing was a veteran by the name of Evgeni Malkin.

Activated from long-term injured reserve Tuesday afternoon, Malkin played his first game of the season after completing a lengthy rehabilitation process following offseason surgery on a badly damaged right knee.

Primarily centering the second line, Malkin scored two goals, including the game-winner, and assisted on another while logging 17:21 of ice time on 20 shifts. He also led the game with four shots on six attempts.

It was Malkin’s first game since Game 6 – a road contest — of a first-round series with the New York Islanders during the 2021 postseason on May 26.

“I feel awesome,” Malkin said to media in Anaheim following the game. “It’s (a) long process for me. It’s (the) longest break in my life. I’m glad to be (with the) team. A little bit nervous before the game. Not a perfect game. But, like, it’s good. We win. Score a couple of goals. It’s amazing. I feel so much at ease right now.”

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His coach seemed to be pretty comfortable with how Malkin played as well.

“He had a really strong game for us,” Mike Sullivan said. “Obviously, we were hopeful that he’d have an impact. To score goals like he did tonight and set up (another) was quite an impact on the game.”

Malkin’s temporary left winger, Jeff Carter, had an impact pretty early as he opened the scoring only 1:05 into regulation. Controlling a puck in his own left circle, Ducks forward Troy Terry was hounded into a turnover by pinching Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson, who jabbed the puck loose. Carter jumped all over it and whacked a one-timer past goaltender Anthony Stolarz’s glove hand on the far side for his 10th goal. The lone assist went to Pettersson.

Malkin scored his first goal in 233 days on a power-play opportunity at 3:23 of the second period.

Off a give-and-go sequence with Malkin, defenseman Kris Letang slipped a pass from above the right circle of the offensive zone to the high slot. From there, Malkin veered slightly to his right, surveyed for a shooting lane and cracked a slapper through a screen – including an impressive vertical leap by Sidney Crosby that would make Sidney Deane reconsider his convictions – beating Stolarz’s glove hand. Letang and forward Jake Guentzel had assists.

The Ducks’ first goal came at the 8:33 mark of the middle frame. From the right point of the offensive zone, Ducks defenseman Josh Manson chucked a wrister into a mass of humanity planted above the crease. The puck appeared to strike the right leg of Ducks forward Sonny Milano and bounce above the crease. Goaltender Tristan Jarry tried to pounce on the rebound, but Malkin chopped it away towards the left circle. Ducks forward Jakob Silfverberg settled the puck just below the right hash mark and shuffled a quick wrister past a scrambling Jarry for his second goal. There were no assists.

Malkin snapped his 11-minute, 15-second goalless streak with a redirection score at 14:38 of the second.

After Milano failed to control a puck on the left wall of his own zone, Penguins rookie forward Radim Zahorna gladly accepted the charity and dished it off to Penguins forward Kasperi Kapanen near the left corner. From there, Kapanen fed a cross-ice pass to Penguins defenseman John Marino. Moving to the top of the right circle, Marino chopped a shot/pass to the crease where Malkin gained position on Ducks defenseman Simon Benoit and deflected the puck. It glanced off Stolarz’s blocker then hit twine. Marino and Kapanen collected assists.

“I was just trying to find him in front,” Marino said. “He’s a great player. He made a great play.”

Victory was secured at 17:03 of the third period when Carter air-mailed an empty-net goal from outside the offensive blue line. Malkin and Kapanen recorded assists.

Jarry made 25 saves on 26 shots and his record improved to 18-6-4, thanks in part to Malkin’s presence.

“He was awesome,” Jarry said of Malkin. “He does nothing but make our team better. You see the game that he brings every day. It’s going to do nothing but help us.”

The wait to return weighed considerably on Malkin.

“You what was the hard part?” Malkin asked rhetorically. “Before (the) game. I wait for this moment (for) so long. … So much things my head — bad things, good things. But I always think about the game. When I stepped on the ice, bad things out and I’m just focused to play.

“It’s just (the) first game. Of course, after a long break, (there is) a couple of turnovers. Next game, I hope I play more and my physical (presence will) be better. It’s still (a) process. It’s not perfect. How many games left? It’s (47) games. It’s a long season. I hope we get in the playoffs and I do my best. I’m just happy, the first game, it’s done. We win and just keep going.”

Notes: Angello, who last played an NHL game on April 3 (excluding preseason contests), logged 4:35 of ice time on seven shifts and had two shots. … Defenseman Mark Friedman was the Penguins’ lone scratch.