Tim Benz: The timing of Evgeni Malkin's return may be just right

I’ll admit that I had the annual “Steelers are passing the baton to the Penguins” column ready to go in my head.

At some point this week, I expected to dust off the once-a-year missive about the Steelers’ season ending, and how that was meshing with the state of the Penguins taking over as the daily top sports story in Pittsburgh.

But along came the previously forlorn Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday afternoon. And another Ben Roethlisberger comeback in Baltimore. And Daniel Carlson’s kick to avoid a tie with two seconds left in overtime out in Las Vegas.

So that post can incubate a little while longer as the Steelers somehow managed to extend their season one more week. Given that their opponent is the Kansas City Chiefs, it probably is just one more week.

Lately, it would’ve been nice for the local hockey club if it was the only team going in town. After all, the franchise just recently enjoyed a 10-game win streak that — had it happened six weeks later on the calendar — would have made them the toast of the city. It’s not often that the Penguins run that hot, for that long, and it’s anything but the dominant sports talking point in town.

But with this roller-coaster season for the Steelers winding along, Roethlisberger’s career drawing to a close, and a rare trip to a major bowl game for the Pitt Panthers with a Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback, the Penguins success to close 2021 and open 2022 wasn’t as loudly trumpeted as it could’ve been.

Oh, and the small matter of that 10-game win streak being put on pause for two weeks over the holidays because of coronavirus postponements didn’t help either.

From a Penguins standpoint, though, having the spotlight pointed elsewhere for the next week may not be the worst thing ever. Future Hall of Fame center Evgeni Malkin is planning to make his season debut Tuesday night in Anaheim against the Ducks. The seven-time All-Star forward had knee surgery during the offseason.

GENO'S BACK! @emalkin71geno will make his season debut tonight in Anaheim! pic.twitter.com/OEJShbq2T8

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) January 11, 2022

Big picture, that’s a good thing. It’s tough to argue that any team is better with a center of that caliber on the shelf rather than on the ice. Even though the Penguins are tied with the Edmonton Oilers for ninth in the league in goals per game (3.26), Malkin’s offensive talents will be a welcomed addition.

Especially on a power play that is 22nd in the NHL at 17.5%.

“(Malkin) adds a whole other dimension to it,” coach Mike Sullivan said of the power play Monday. “His playmaking ability, his one-timer. He’s just such an elite offensive player, the way he thinks the game and his ability to execute. It just brings another dimension to our power play that makes us that much harder to defend against.”

But given how the Penguins have won 10 of their past 11 games, there is some concern about how Malkin will fit in with the way the Penguins have been playing.

Much like they did en route to the 2016 Stanley Cup in Sullivan’s first year on the bench, he has found a way to get the Penguins to buy into a sound, responsible, systematic approach that minimizes risk and costly mistakes, but still allows the team to play with speed and highlight its natural offensive talents.

Since the Stanley Cups in Sullivan’s first two years, the coach has always preached those same principles, but his skaters strayed. That usually seems to happen when all the star players — Malkin, Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang, Jake Guentzel — are healthy at the same time and they become too focused on forcing offense. Or when the playoffs roll around and opposing teams clamp down defensively and frustrate the team into mistakes.

Malkin often seems to be at the center of those conversations because of his propensity to freelance, use the ice in a more east-west fashion, and make high-risk plays at the blue lines. It’s hard to rely on system-based hockey when a player of such influence gets nearly 20 minutes of ice time per game and colors outside of those lines as frequently as Malkin does.

There is also a belief by some that Malkin’s mere presence on the ice gets players such as Crosby, Letang and Guentzel thinking more offensively, more of the time. More flash and dash instead of consistent straight-line play.

That’s their fault if it’s true. Not Malkin’s. Malkin can’t bear the responsibility for others’ mistakes as well as his own. But it is a dynamic that has seemed to hang around this team for as long as Crosby, Letang and Malkin have been together.

That’s why so many discussions about the Penguins often get reduced to the overly simplified analysis of “doesn’t it seem like they always play better when at least one of those guys is out of the lineup?”

At least publicly, Sullivan isn’t expressing those concerns. In fact, it almost sounds like he’s embracing Malkin’s improvisational tendencies.

“He also brings a certain level of instinctive play that’s unpredictable. It’s hard to prepare for,” Sullivan said. “It’s hard to game plan because he has the ability to go off the grid. He just sees the ice so well. He brings a certain level of unpredictability to our offense.”

Knocking off rust and assimilating with how the Penguins have been playing will take some time for Malkin. And the Penguins might hit a rough patch weaving him back into the lineup, dishing out his ice time, and meshing him with specific linemates could come with some hiccups. Given how well the Penguins have been playing of late, it’ll be easy for everyone to meltdown their analysis to, “Uh, oh. Malkin is throwing off the chemistry.”

Having those bumps in the road potentially transpiring under the cover of six more days of Western Pa. trying to figure out how the Steelers are going to slow down Patrick Mahomes may be a welcomed coincidence.

Furthermore, many of Malkin’s first few games will be played on nights when the puck won’t drop until after 10 p.m. Eastern time. That could help, too. The Pens visit Anaheim Tuesday night, Los Angeles on Thursday, San Jose Saturday and Las Vegas Monday.

All in due time, every little move by all the Penguins will be overly scrutinized. Every mistake will be highlighted. Fans and media will have half the team benched and the other half traded before the deadline.

Sure. Malkin, too.

But being afforded a comfortable ramp-up period without those making outside noise ready to pounce before he’s in top form over the next two weeks seems like a nice benefit for No. 71.

Just don’t take too long, Geno. The team plane has to come back East eventually and … well … did we mention the Steelers have to play Kansas City in their first playoff game?

Brian Metzer of the Penguins radio network joins me to talk about the Penguins’ Western Conference road trip, the team’s place in the standings, Evgeni Malkin’s looming return and the backup goalie situation.