'Dominant' Evgeni Malkin Finding Chemistry with New Linemate Reilly Smith

After Evgeni Malkin scored a goal and an assist on Saturday versus Calgary to give him six points in Pittsburgh’s first three games, it was mentioned that he was among the NHL’s scoring leaders – and he had a perfect Geno response.

“I hope tomorrow the season is over, and I win Hart Trophy!” Malkin joked.

He would have gotten a share of it, along with teammate Jake Guentzel, after last night’s slate of games came to an end.

As Malkin later pointed out, the year has just begun … but that being said, it’s a pretty remarkable start to the superstar center’s 18^th NHL season. At 37 years old, Malkin is looking strong as ever.

“I think Geno is playing just a great game right now,” Penguins Head Coach Mike Sullivan said. “He's just all over the puck. I think he's playing with tons of energy and a lot of confidence, and when he's like that, he’s as dominant a player as there is in the league.”

He’s also playing with a lot of motivation, after the way last season ended. Malkin has said numerous times how disappointing it was to miss the postseason, which marked the first time in his career, as the 16-year playoff streak had begun with his rookie season in 2006-07.

“It was a long summer, a little bit of rest, but miss hockey… I mean, I want to win, you know? I want to play hard,” Malkin said. “Last year is, again, we talk a lot and we don’t like it, to miss playoffs. Coach say right away, these two points are the same two points in March or February. We understand we need to play hard.”

Right now, Malkin feels good, adding that “we have a great line,” playing with Reilly Smith on his left wing and Rickard Rakell on his right.

When the Penguins acquired Smith from Vegas a few weeks after the Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup, they hoped the five-time 20-goal scorer could fit with Malkin – who joked in training camp that he wanted Reilly to show him his ring. So far, that’s proving to be the case, which says a lot about Smith, as it isn’t always easy to handle the instinctive play and unpredictability of a dynamic talent like Malkin.

Smith said he’s doing his best to figure out the right reads, especially coming back into Pittsburgh’s zone, trying to stop and count numbers as quickly as possible so they can sort themselves out before heading back up the ice.

 “I think Reilly’s hockey IQ really allows him to see it on both sides of the puck when Geno is going to do his thing,” Sullivan said. “He knows whether he needs to take a defensive posture or whether he can find ice, and Geno usually finds him when he does.”

In Pittsburgh’s season-opening loss on Tuesday against Chicago, Malkin fed Smith a number of quality chances that he couldn’t convert. Ahead of Saturday’s matchup with the Capitals, Smith said the onus was on him to transition more seamlessly to get more open so that Malkin wouldn’t have to take a second look in order to find him.

“Overall, I think we created enough. It's just putting pucks in the back in the net,” Smith said. “That's the biggest difference for us; hopefully, we can turn that tonight.”

Malkin went on to record a goal and three primary assists in the 4-0 win over Washington, including a stretch pass across the neutral zone to Smith at the opposing blue line, who carried in and showcased his terrific release for his first of the year.

The following night against Calgary was more of the same, with Malkin again setting up Smith for his second in as many games. What’s great for the Penguins, and scary for the rest of the league, is that Malkin and Smith are producing like that while still getting used to each other.

“I hope we keep going the same way,” Malkin said. “He’s a great player, great shot, great skilled guy. I just give him the puck, and I mean, the last couple games we play pretty well…. just stay focused, stay positive and help each other.”