'Half the season is gone': Evgeni Malkin insists Penguins don't lack sense of urgency amid skid

In the first period of Tuesday’s 4-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken, a frustrated Evgeni Malkin slammed his stick into the offensive-zone glass after failing to bury a rebound past Joey Daccord.

Malkin, who returned to action for the Pittsburgh Penguins after a four-game absence because of injury, shot the puck way high, having rebounded a slap shot off the stick of Marcus Pettersson.

If Malkin missed an opportunity in that moment, the same could be said of the Penguins collectively Tuesday and during their now-completed five-game homestand. They went 1-3-1 and secured only three of 10 possible points.

“We see (the) standings,” Malkin said. “I think we understand we’d miss playoffs, and half the season is gone. Yeah, we understand everything. But again, I mean, if we want to play in the playoffs, we need to play so much better in every zone, every moment, every detail. I think everybody here has played a long time in the league. I think everybody understands what’s going on.

“We have a nice organization. We have great history. And the last two years, we’ve missed playoffs. I don’t like to miss again. It’s not good enough. I hope we look in the mirror tonight and tomorrow and start to play better.”

In many ways, the loss mirrored Sunday, when a third-period collapse allowed the Tampa Bay Lightning to leave town with a 5-2 win.

In that game, the Penguins (18-20-8) outshot the Lightning, 33-19, but still came up empty.

On Tuesday against Seattle, the Penguins owned a 33-18 advantage in shots, but two Kraken goals 50 seconds apart in the third period undid all the offensive pressure they’d managed throughout the game.

“I mean, you see (the) game tonight,” Malkin said. “(Through) two periods, we play the better game. And then, third period, we did not defend hard. If we want to take two points, we have to play 60 minutes. It’s a hard league and again, everybody, every line needs to play hard, block shots. We played in the offensive zone a lot tonight. … I think we tried hard, but again, (in the) D-zone, we did not play hard.”

Interestingly, the one team the Penguins managed to beat in regulation this homestand, Edmonton, was easily the best opponent of the bunch.

The Oilers have 57 points on the season entering Thursday, compared to the Lightning (49), Ottawa Senators (47) and Columbus Blue Jackets (48).

The Kraken (19-23-3, 41 points entering Thursday) should have represented a more favorable matchup for the Penguins, who now embark on a seven-game road trip that includes four straight contests on the West Coast from Monday through Jan. 27.

As the Penguins leave home for a stretch of games that could put them in a dangerously deep hole looking at the Eastern Conference postseason picture, coach Mike Sullivan continues to search for solutions.

“If I had the answer, I’d fix it,” he said. “We simply have to do a better job defending in our end zone. That falls on me. I’ve got to do a better job coaching these guys on our play in our own end, defending away from the puck and making sure that we’re on the same page there.”

Suiting up for the first time since Jan. 5, Malkin saw 18 minutes of action, going 3 of 6 in the faceoff circle with one shot Tuesday.

He also assisted on Bryan Rust’s second-period goal.

“I feel pretty good tonight,” Malkin said. “I skated fine, physically fine. Shape is good. I’m glad to be back, (but) it’s a tough night for the team, too.”

Malkin and the Penguins will aim to start playing like the team that went 8-2-1 from Nov. 27 to Dec. 19 and not like the one that’s currently at risk of its season getting off the rails.

That might be easier said than done.

Their first attempt to right the ship will come Friday night at the Buffalo Sabres.

“Long seven-game road trip — we need to play so much harder,” Malkin said.