Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin approaches return

Evgeni Malkin didn’t go to California with an aching heart.

But he did trek there with a surgically repaired right knee and hopes of playing his first games in more than seven months.

The Pittsburgh Penguins’ franchise center — one of two they are blessed to have — appears to be in line to make his season debut in a road game against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday.

Coach Mike Sullivan, who usually is tight-lipped with most lineup information, offered an optimistic assessment of Malkin’s availability when speaking with media in Anaheim on Monday.

“We’re encouraged by his progress,” Sullivan said. “I would anticipate, at this point, that (Malkin) would be a game-time decision. But we’re certainly encouraged by the progress that he’s made. He’s had a lot of preparation that’s gotten him to this point. He’s had a fair amount of full participation in practice. We’ve gotten him some scrimmage time (in) five-on-five (scenarios). We’ve gotten him involved with the top power-play unit. We’ve tried to check all the boxes as far as his preparation process. He’s worked extremely hard to get himself to this point.

“We’ll evaluate his progress here overnight. We’ll make a decision (Tuesday). But I would anticipate him being a game-time decision.”

Should that decision result in Malkin playing Tuesday, it would mark the first time he has played in a game of consequence since May 26 — Game 6 of a first-round series against the New York Islanders in last season’s playoffs.

Eight days later, the team announced he underwent surgery on a badly damaged right knee that was initially injured March 16.

The Penguins were tight-lipped over the past seven-plus months with regards to any kind of timeline for a potential return by Malkin. Other than Ron Hextall suggesting Malkin would miss a minimum of the first two months of the regular season on the first day of training camp in September, the team has been hesitant to forecast his return.

At least publicly.

“We were well aware of a ballpark time frame on when he would return to play,” Sullivan said. “And he’s right in that window.”

What kind of player the Penguins will get figures to be a work in progress. After all, it’s been 230 days since his last game.

Regardless, Malkin’s optimism appears to be as abundant as bountiful as his down time.

“Now, my knee is like 200% stronger,” Malkin boasted Dec. 29.

An area Malkin will presumably strengthen is the power play, which has converted at an unimpressive 15.5% success rate this season.

“He adds a whole other dimension to it,” Sullivan said. “His playmaking ability, his one-timer. He’s just such an elite offensive player, the way he thinks the game and his ability to execute. It just brings another dimension to our power play that makes us that much harder to defend against. He also brings a certain level of instinctive play that’s unpredictable. It’s hard to prepare for, it’s hard to game plan because he has the ability to go off the grid. He just sees the ice so well. He brings a certainly level of unpredictability to our offense.”

It might be premature to predict how quickly a 35-year-old with a surgically repaired knee can rebound and play at a level fitting of an All-Star.

But his teammates don’t seem concerned.

“He’s just been working really hard on and off the ice,” said Kasperi Kapanen, Malkin’s usual linemate. ‘You can tell. I feel like he’s pretty strong. He’s always been that way. Once he gets on the ice, you can tell he just sees plays that you don’t even see coming yet. He makes plays for guys to skate into space and get the puck. He’s just a tremendous athlete.”

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