Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin apologizes for ugly loss to Capitals

Evgeni Malkin had a charming way of welcoming new teammate Michael Bunting to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“Talk to these guys!” Malkin bellowed, referring to reporters and playfully hoping they would quit querying him about the state of the underwhelming team.

Malkin has never been overly comfortable speaking with media, either in English or his native Russian. But when he does offer his thoughts, they usually carry plenty of weight.

Following a practice session in Cranberry on Friday, Malkin offered something that was completely congruent with the gravity of the Penguins’ current predicament.

An apology.

After the Penguins were bludgeoned by the rival Washington Capitals at home 6-0 on Thursday, Malkin took responsibility for the setback.

“Last night, we all understand it’s not a great night for us,” Malkin said. “I want to say sorry to fans because they pay (for) tickets, they come to (the) rink and they see this game. It’s not great. We can (lose) but we need to play harder for sure. It’s a tough situation right now but just forget everything. Forget last night. Play every game and we’ll see what’s going on.”

What is going on with the Penguins at the moment is they are all but mathematically eliminated from postseason contention. And with the NHL’s trade deadline approaching at 3 p.m. Friday, they have begun to sell off some players with expiring contracts.

Following Thursday’s loss, they dealt All-Star forward Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Bunting, as well as a handful of prospects and draft picks. Then shortly before Friday’s practice, steady depth defenseman Chad Ruhwedel was moved to the New York Rangers for a draft pick.

For a team that has largely been buyers at the trade deadline for more than a decade and a half, these are strange times.

Still, Malkin professes hope — albeit in a frugal manner — that the 2023-24 Penguins aren’t out of playoff contention.

“We need a better mood for sure right now,” Malkin said. “It’s not easy. Just play every game. We play against Boston (Saturday), Edmonton (Sunday). If we win both games, who knows? Again, it’s hockey. It changes quick. We win against (the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday) and the next game (against Washington on Thursday), we play so bad. Again, we have great players here but not (a) great team right now. We need to help each other and support each other. Hockey changes quick.

“A big day today. We trade (Ruhwedel), maybe a couple new guys (will) give us energy. Who knows? Maybe now after (the trade deadline), guys (don’t) feel pressure anymore and (be) a little bit more relaxed and play better, everybody play better. Who knows? We still believe — not a big chance — but we still believe we have a chance to make the playoffs.”

Clearly, losing the services of Guentzel does not help those ambitions.

Malkin spoke glowingly of his former teammate.

“The last couple of weeks, I think probably we know that something (will) happen,” Malkin said. “I think he (understood) too. It’s hard of course. Everybody liked him. He’s an amazing player for sure. I want to just say, good luck to him. He’s a nice guy, great player. I hope he scores many goals.”

Malkin still has a goal of winning with the Penguins, if not this year, but in the future.

“I signed (a) four-year contract (in 2022),” Malkin said. “After this year, I have two more years. I want to stay here. If I wanted to change teams, I probably would have changed two years ago. Again, this is my home, second home.

“Any situation, I’m most happy here. … Now, it’s a tough situation. I want to be here.”

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