Malone makes impact as rookie
PITTSBURGH – Top draft pick Marc-Andre Fleury isn’t the only rookie who’s forcing the Pittsburgh Penguins to create playing time for him. Ryan Malone, the son of former NHL forward Greg Malone, goes into Wednesday night’s game against Philadelphia tied for fourth among NHL rookies with five goals – two of them overtime winners.
He also has a short-handed goal, and his nine points tie him with Aleksey Morozov, fellow rookie Konstantin Koltsov and the injured Mario Lemieux for the third most on the team.
Malone jumped directly from St. Cloud State’s lineup a year ago into Pittsburgh’s, with only three minor league games along the way, and there’s nothing to suggest he’s in danger of being demoted to the minors.
“After seeing him in training camp and watching him progress, our expectation level was really high for him,” Penguins coach Eddie Olczyk said. “He had some tough times at the beginning of the year and there were some games where he was in-between, but he stayed with it.”
Malone was honored Saturday before the Penguins’ 2-1 overtime victory over Ottawa for being the first Pittsburgh-grown player to make it to the NHL. He finished off the night by beating goalie Patrick Lalime at 2:40 of overtime to give the Penguins only their fifth victory in 19 games.
“I think I was more nervous with the awards ceremony than I was on opening night,” Malone said.
“With all the younger kids there, it was a little extra pressure and I’m glad I got the winner.”
Malone is displaying a flair for the dramatic, a concept copied from the sport’s top players. He is the only NHL player with multiple overtime goals this season.
“I’m getting a lot of chances and I wish that I could say I’m surprised, but I’ve kind of expected what I’ve done so far,” Malone said. “It’s great because a couple of bounces here and there early on can definitely improve your confidence.”
Malone has spent most of the season on what has become the Penguins’ top-scoring line with Morozov and Rico Fata, who has seven goals and 11 points.
“We’re all young guys and we do everything we can to help each other,” Morozov said. “Ryan’s just a good player. You can see in the way he works hard in every practice and in games that he can play in this league.”
Malone’s strong debut has alleviated some of the pressure on the Penguins’ scouting department for what had been a long stretch of unproductive drafts.
That’s a comfort to Malone, since father Greg is the team’s chief scout.
Greg Malone had 143 goals and 364 points in 495 Penguins games over eight seasons from 1976-83.
“I really put pressure on myself to come in and play the way I can,” Ryan Malone said. “Right now, I’m obviously thankful for where I’m at and I’ve just got to keep improving every day.”