Malkin shooting for much higher profile
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MONTREAL -- Evgeni Malkin has a Stanley Cup ring, an NHL scoring championship and a playoff MVP award. What he does not have, at least in parts of North America, is a public presence equal to his accomplishments.
Fellow Russian Alex Ovechkin got much of the attention in their draft year, and Malkin has been overshadowed by Sidney Crosby much of their time together with the Penguins, but it has gotten pretty tough to overlook Malkin lately.
While Ovechkin is having a lackluster season and Crosby has missed all but eight games because of a concussion and neck injury, Malkin entered the Penguins game against Montreal Tuesday night at the Bell Centre as the league's leading scorer. He also has been turning up in a lot of conversations about the top candidates for the Hart Trophy, which is awarded to the regular-season MVP.
While Malkin's place as one of the NHL's elite talents has been secure for quite a while; coach Dan Bylsma said Tuesday Malkin might be ready for a higher profile.
"In terms of being out there, being with the media, having his face out there, it's a long way from where it was three years ago," he said. "There's a certain flair and personality with Evgeni that maybe you didn't see three years ago. Certainly, there is some flair there. There's a lot of personality. I think you're seeing more and more of that."
Of course, Malkin's productivity, not his personality, is most important to the Penguins.
"He's a great player and, certainly in the last month and a half, we've needed him to be great," Bylsma said. "He's carried the load in a lot of aspects for our team."
The Penguins have not offered information about the nature or severity of right winger Tyler Kennedy's injury.
Kennedy hobbled off the ice late in the third period of a 5-2 loss Sunday in New Jersey, and, subsequently, left the team to have his injury evaluated in Pittsburgh. Bylsma said if the Penguins did not have an update on Kennedy by Tuesday afternoon, which they obviously did not, word on his status could come today.
First Published February 8, 2012 12:00 am
