With 16 games remaining in the season and having missed 14 contests because of injury, Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin has matched his totals from 2018-19 in goals and surpassed them in even-strength points.

His plus/minus is a whopping plus-34 better than last season, and his shooting percentage, average ice time and takeaways also are all up.

When it comes to puck possession measured by even-strength shot attempts, Malkin is miles ahead of where he was last season.

“You can see he’s that much more motivated this year,” linemate Bryan Rust said. “This year I think he came out to prove a lot of people wrong. I don’t think he was happy with how last year went. He came out with something to prove, and he’s been awesome all year.”

The 33-year-old has six points over the Penguins’ past two games, both victories. He has 21 goals, 48 assists, 47 even-strength points and 65 takeaways with a 13.1 shooting percentage this season. Malkin is averaging 18 minutes, 29 seconds of ice time, his most in six years, and the Penguins are attempting 54.4% of the 5-on-5 shots while he is on the ice, 4.6% more than when he is not.

”His whole overall game, I think, is just much better (than last year),” coach Mike Sullivan said. “Offensively, he’s been dominant. He’s a threat every time he steps on the ice.

“But I think the biggest improvement I’ve seen in Geno’s game is his decisions with the puck. He’s not playing that high-risk of a game, and he’s playing with a commitment to playing defense when he doesn’t have the puck. He’s working extremely hard at it. But he’s been a dominant player with the puck all year.”

Keep up with the Pittsburgh Penguins all season long.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)