Evgeni Malkin could have begged off.

Could have let it be known that he simply wouldn't be able to participate in the NHL All-Star Game on Sunday in Ottawa because he had, say, a nagging groin injury lately, and resting it would be the right thing to do for his team and himself.

Or because he has been battling a case of the sniffles that developed into a full-blown, flu-like ailment.

Or because the pain around an incision made when his knee was surgically repaired a little less than a year ago had returned. Or because he has been bothered by back spasms. Or because his dog ate his homework.

Fact is, guys have been offering up excuses -- some completely valid, some almost comical -- for skipping all-star games for almost as long as those games have been played.

And it's particularly understandable that it happens in hockey, because the game is contested in midwinter, generally in cold-weather sites.

That means the players involved in the game are obliged to spend much of a late-January weekend shivering while those who aren't selected have an opportunity to spend a few days resting, quite possibly on a warm, sunny beach.

But Malkin, the Penguins center who is the NHL's leading scorer and likely contender for league MVP honors, said he never considered passing on this all-star game, and seems to be genuinely looking forward to it.

"I know [some players do that], but I play every game," he said. "It's a little bit bad if you say [you have a sore] groin and it's not true."

Malkin's eagerness to be part of the weekend's festivities might have something to do with restoring his place among the NHL's dominant performers.

That's a distinction Malkin appears to feel he might have lost in the eyes of some after the knee injury that forced him to sit out the final two-plus months of the 2010-11 season and the playoffs.

"I lost a lot of games last year," Malkin said. "Some guys say, 'Oh, he's not playing at the same level anymore.' I worked hard over the summer and coming into this year, and I know I'm ready.

"Now, I'm playing not bad, and it's different, going to the All-Star Game. I like my game, you know, and people look at how I play."