Malkin Notches His Fourth Goal In Four Games, As Pens Top Devils
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PITTSBURGH — Evgeni Malkin scored a goal in his fourth consecutive game to start his career, fellow Pittsburgh rookie Jordan Staal scored his third goal in two games and the Penguins beat the New Jersey Devils 4–2 last night.
The Penguins, the Atlantic Division’s last-place team the last four seasons, find themselves in an unfamiliar spot since the days following Mario Lemieux’s comeback nearly six years ago: first place. They have won three in a row for the first time since March 19–23, 2004, a span that includes the 2004-05 labor shutdown season.
Their 5–3 record may not seem all that great, but it’s a big improvement from the Penguins’ nine-game losing streak to start last season. The players most responsible for their improved record created most of the offense in a game the 18-year-old Staal, 19-year-old Sidney Crosby and 20-year-old Malkin teamed to take 13 of Pittsburgh’s 25 shots.
Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, making his eighth consecutive start, turned aside 20 of 22 shots.
The Devils, who got goals from Scott Gomez and Sergei Brylin, lost their third in a row and have scored only 13 goals in six games.
With Malkin moved up to Crosby’s line, Nils Ekman played on the Penguins’ no. 2 line with Staal and Mark Recchi for the first time and scored Pittsburgh’s first goal and assisted on Staal’s fourth career goal. Crosby and Malkin each had a goal and an assist after being united on the no. 1 line by coach Michel Therrien on Monday.
Malkin’s goal came midway through the third and was exactly the kind of highlight-reel goal he scored so often for Russia in international play and with the Russian Super League last season. Taking a cross-ice pass from Crosby in the Devils’ zone, he split two defenders and did a spin move near the net to cleanly beat goaltender Martin Brodeur on a backhander to restore Pittsburgh’s two-goal lead.
Malkin, who missed the Penguins’ first four games with a dislocated left shoulder, is the first NHL player to score in each of his first four games since Steven King of the Rangers in 1992.
