Emotional Evgeni Malkin records hat trick as Penguins rout Panthers: 'I almost cried'

AtlanticBruinsCanadiensLightningMaple LeafsPanthersRed WingsSabresSenatorsMetropolitanBlue JacketsCapitalsDevilsFlyersHurricanesIslandersPenguinsRangersCentralAvalancheBlackhawksBluesJetsMammothPredatorsStarsWildPacificCanucksDucksFlamesGolden KnightsKingsKrakenOilersSharksScores & ScheduleStandingsPodcastsFantasyNHL OddsNHL PicksPlayoff projectionsNHL Draft rankingRed Light NewsletterNHL Regular Evgeni Malkin recorded the 14th hat trick of his career on Saturday. Joe Sargent / NHLI via Getty Images Share full articlePITTSBURGH — Evgeni Malkin has always enjoyed a visceral connection with Pittsburgh Penguins fans and that was very much on display at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday night. As fans threw hats on the ice to commemorate the 14th hat trick of Malkin’s unforgettable career, they chanted “Geno! Geno!” in a moment that clearly meant something to the future Hall of Famer during the Penguins’ 9-4 rout of the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. “I almost cried a little bit,” Malkin said. “It’s huge for me. I (last) scored a hat trick a long time ago, I don’t remember when (2022 against the Red Wings). Again, it’s lots of emotion. And I want to say thank you. Thank you for the support for myself, (the) team.” While the primary storyline in Pittsburgh this season has been the Penguins’ improbable run toward the postseason — thanks to losses by the Islanders and Blue Jackets on Saturday, the Penguins are more of a sure bet than ever to reach the playoffs — Malkin’s cloudy future has also been a topic that can’t be avoided. Playing in his 20th season with the Penguins, Malkin is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. The Penguins have not offered him another contract, though president of hockey operations/general manager Kyle Dubas has agreed to meet with Malkin and his representatives following the season. Malkin has made it clear — he did so again following the game — that he wishes to remain in Pittsburgh next season. Dubas has been highly complimentary of Malkin’s work this season, but also said at a press conference in March that he has to do “what’s best for the Pittsburgh Penguins” regarding Malkin’s future with the team. Thus, the Malkin situation remains unclear. There was a sense in the building on Saturday night that the fans and Malkin were enjoying the moment a little more than usual, just in case. Of course, the fans would naturally like to see Malkin return for more hockey next season. His performance against the Panthers provided some compelling evidence that gas in the tank remains. Malkin not only produced a hat trick but, along the way, passed the 1,400-point mark for his career. “It’s an amazing number, for sure,” Malkin said. “It’s one team, it’s huge. I love to play here. I love to play with Sid (Sidney Crosby), Tanger (Kris Letang), Karl (Erik Karlsson). We have a great team right now. We played hard. Points (are) important. I don’t want to stop, and I want the next milestone to be 15(00).” His teammates loved seeing Malkin’s performance. “It’s always nice to see when the big man is moving,” Karlsson said. “He wanted it today. He’s obviously a big part of this team.” Karlsson, Anthony Mantha, Noel Acciari, Ryan Shea, Elmer Soderblom and Rickard Rakell also score for the Penguins, who put up six goals in the second period. The Penguins, who were not short-handed in this game, went 3 for 3 on the power play. “Obviously a good game for us,” Karlsson said. “I think we took their spirit away in the second. A well-executed game by us.” • The scene in the locker room spoke for itself. After Malkin had met with the media, he was joined by his son, Nikita. Then, a moment later, Crosby came to join the Malkins. The three of them just sat together and took in the moment. It was a special moment to witness. Crosby and Malkin are so close, and it clearly meant the world to Malkin that his son was on hand to witness his dad putting on a show. It doesn’t get much better than that. • As Karlsson noted, Malkin had his legs in a very big way. Only a few months shy of hitting 40, it’s clear that Malkin doesn’t have his legs on some nights. For that matter, we’re starting to see that at times with Crosby. They’re still great, but it’s not always easy bringing the A-game to the rink every night at that age. But Malkin brought it out in this game. He had four points on the night and was the game’s dominant player. He had been quiet in recent games but exploded in this one, easily playing his finest game since a three-point performance at Colorado on March 16. • Crosby earned two assists and is now one point shy of clinching a point-per-game season for the 21st consecutive time, which would extend his NHL record. Also, on a day of milestones, Crosby passed Steve Yzerman to slide into seventh place on the NHL’s all-time scoring list with 1,756 points. He required 97 fewer games than Yzerman to reach that number. Yzerman was Crosby’s favorite player growing up, and when I congratulated him after the game for reaching the milestone, I could surmise by the look on his face that this one meant a lot. Should Crosby remain healthy next season, he’ll pass Marcel Dionne and Ron Francis to crack the top five. He’s currently 94 points away from catching Gordie Howe. After that, the only players ahead of him would be Wayne Gretzky, Jaromir Jagr and Mark Messier. I think those names speak for themselves. • Crosby had just played a very ineffective game in Tampa two nights earlier. And make no mistake, he’s not on top of his game right now. This was the second straight game in which he didn’t register a shot on goal. The last time he went two straight games without a shot was last season, when he responded with a seven-shot outing against Utah in the game that produced his 600th career goal. That said, there were signs that Crosby will snap out of his funk sooner rather than later in this game. His skating looked better and he made a couple of passes, especially one to Bryan Rust in the first period, that only the greats make. He hasn’t played a lot of hockey during the past couple of months because of two separate leg injuries, and I think his timing has been out of whack. I still think he’ll be OK come playoff time. • Soderblom can really play. I’m not sure if the Penguins can take him out of the lineup when the postseason begins. He’s put up two goals and five points in his last five games, while becoming a noticeably more physical player. He’s a positive player for the Penguins right now. • Speaking of which, I loved Sam Girard’s game. Again. This is the third straight game in which Girard has played high-level hockey for the Penguins. Letang and Girard were really struggling a couple of weeks back, but seem to have found their footing. In his past four games, Girard has four points and is a plus-6. He’s made big strides and it should be noted that Colorado’s defensive system is much different than what the Penguins use. Girard has explained that Colorado uses more man-to-man elements in its defensive approach and that learning the Pittsburgh system has taken some time. • Karlsson had four points in this game and now has 10 goals and 28 points in his past 19 games. That’s not a mistake. • Artūrs Šilovs is just scary. The goaltender earned the win, yes. But this was not a good performance. Florida’s first goal was especially bad and came courtesy of a terrible Šilovs rebound. Šilovs has allowed 31 goals in his past 8 starts. His save percentage during that time is .842. That’s not good enough. There’s no way you can play him in a playoff game and it wouldn’t be a bad idea to invite Sergei Murashov to Pittsburgh. You want your best players playing in the spring, right? Does anyone think Šilovs is better than Murashov right now? • I have a lot of respect for the Panthers. Literally half of their team is out with injuries right now, and this is a team suffering from profound exhaustion. Three straight trips to the Stanley Cup Final will do that to a team. But this group has a lot of pride. As bad as they were in this game, I don’t think they’ll be a pushover on Sunday when they play the Penguins in a rematch. • The Islanders and Blue Jackets lost again on Saturday. This means the Penguins are a virtual lock to not only reach the playoffs but also likely to have home-ice advantage in the first round. What is really interesting is that a couple of old friends — the Flyers and Capitals — are now very much alive and could surpass the Islanders and Blue Jackets, perhaps meeting the Penguins in the first round. I imagine those respective matchups would get everyone’s attention. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Josh Yohe is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. Josh joined The Athletic in 2017 after covering the Penguins for a decade, first for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and then for DKPittsburghSports.com. Follow Josh on Twitter @JoshYohe_PGH