Malkin not scoring goals
PITTSBURGH — Evgeni Malkin goes nearly a quarter of a season without a goal, yet it’s not all bad.
How could that be?
While Malkin hasn’t been scoring, he’s been helping others get goals. His play making hasn’t suffered during the long goal drought. In fact, the case could be made that Malkin is looking to pass the puck too often, giving up shots that he should be taking.
The basic numbers explain the long stretch without a goal. Malkin isn’t shooting enough. Maybe he’s lost a bit of confidence in his goal-scoring ability. That shouldn’t happen to a player with his pedigree, but it’s natural for a player to entertain some doubts when things aren’t going they way they should.
While Malkin’s lack of goals is vexing, it isn’t going to be a long-term problem. He’ll score again, he’ll feel good about his shot, and the goals will come. Malkin is too talented and creative a player to go this long without scoring.
He’ll be fine.
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A couple of years ago, a lot of people were hot to get rid of Paul Martin.
The veteran defenseman had a bad year, and he knew it. Martin is a smart, analytical player, so he quickly sized up what was happening.
He started playing tentatively, and he was consistently making bad decisions with the puck and with his positioning.
The Penguins offered him a chance to escape. General manager Ray Shero approached Martin and asked if he would be more comfortable elsewhere. Shero was willing to seek a trade for Martin.
Martin decided that he wanted to stay put. Instead of starting over somewhere else, he decided he’d rather stay in Pittsburgh and work things out.
Now it’s paying off for both sides. Martin is playing a solid, if unspectacular, game. The coaching staff probably appreciates him more than fans do because they analyze tapes and see all the small things he does correctly.
Martin is never going to throw the thundering body checks that Brooks Orpik does.
He’s never going to be a feared fighter, like Deryk Engelland is.
He’s never going to dazzle everyone with end-to-end rushes the way Kris Letang does.
That’s fine. He gives the Penguins consistently solid play, and that’s good enough.
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It was not surprising to hear former Penguins defenseman Ben Lovejoy saying his trade to the Anaheim Ducks was a great career move.
It was a jolt when it happened last February.
Lovejoy was a New England suddenly heading for the west coast. He was leaving the only organization he had ever known.
But the move was the right one for his career. Instead of being low on the Penguins’ depth chart, he’s a top four defenseman with Anaheim. There’s plenty of ice time, plenty of opportunity.
Playing for the Penguins is a great thing for a lot of players. For others, though, there’s a better chance elsewhere.
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The salary cap means that teams can’t keep all the players they’d like to keep.
There was no chance to keep Matt Cooke after Minnesota made him a generous offer. Good for Cooke, who is getting close to the end of his career.
But the Penguins certainly could use the grit and energy he brought to the lineup.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)