Malkin Anticipated to be Game-Time Decision

Evgeni Malkin had said he hoped to make his season debut during Pittsburgh's long road trip that includes three stops out West, and it looks like that will be the case.
After the team practiced on Monday at Honda Center, head coach Mike Sullivan said the Penguins superstar will likely be a game-time decision for Tuesday's contest in Anaheim.

"We'll evaluate his progress here overnight and we'll make a decision tomorrow, but I would anticipate him being a game-time decision," Sullivan said.
The three-time Stanley Cup champion's
long road to recovery
began back on March 16, when he first injured his right knee in a collision with Bruins defenseman Jarrod Tinordi. Malkin was sidelined for most of the final six weeks of the regular season (appearing in just four games), as well as Games 1 and 2 of Round One of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
He made the decision to undergo surgery on June 4, and has been working his way back ever since. After being cleared for individual workouts on and off the ice, Malkin first joined his teammates for practice in a no-contact fashion back on Nov. 29. He progressed to full contact on Dec. 27, and has been skating in that capacity ever since.
While the Penguins never announced an official recovery timeline, Sullivan said the team was well aware of a ballpark timeframe, and that Malkin is right in that window.
"He's worked extremely hard to get himself to this point," Sullivan said. "He's had a fair amount of full participation in practice. We've gotten him some scrimmage time 5-on-5, we've gotten him involved with the top power-play unit. So we've tried to check all the boxes as far as his preparation process."
During Monday's session in Anaheim, the 35-year-old center was reunited on a line with 24-year-old winger Kasperi Kapanen. Last season, the two of them had clicked right away, and had been on quite the tear right before Malkin went down.
After a relatively slow individual start to the 2020-21 campaign, Malkin had regained his usual dominant form going into that game against Boston, piling up 12 points (4G-8A) over an eight-game point streak. Kapanen was also in a groove, recording four goals and five assists over that same span.
"They had a certain chemistry right from the get-go that for me, was obvious to our coaching staff," Sullivan said. "We felt that they were a pair that brought us a certain quick-strike capability offensively. They're two very good players."
Kapanen said he felt that once he began playing with Malkin, his game elevated, so he's looking forward to the opportunity to get back alongside him. Especially since Kapanen hasn't always been satisfied with his play during his second season with the Penguins, which has been pretty inconsistent at times. Kapanen did get on the scoresheet in Saturday's 3-2 loss to Dallas for his eighth goal of the season, so skating with Malkin can hopefully help keep that momentum going.
"It's pretty easy to play with a guy like Geno," Kapanen said. "He's got a Hall of Fame career and one of the best to ever play, so I'm lucky I have a chance to play with him."
When putting together his forward combinations, Sullivan has always preferred to start with tandems, with Sidney Crosby/Jake Guentzel being a prime example of that and Malkin/Kapanen being another. From there, the coaching staff finds a third player to complement the other two.
During line rushes on Monday, that player was Jeff Carter, who has mostly slotted in at center with the Penguins since being acquired from Los Angeles at last year's trade deadline, but moved onto Malkin's left wing this afternoon.
"Carts is just a really smart player that's capable of playing any position we ask of him, and when we ask him to do it, he's willing," Sullivan said. "He embraces anything we throw at him. Nothing's etched in stone here. We're trying to put line combinations together with the people that we have available that we think gives us the best chance to win."
When asked if Malkin looked as good to him as he does to the people watching from the stands, Kapanen said he looks even better.
"It was like he never left, so it was it was good to see," Kapanen said. "I feel like he's pretty strong. He's always been that way, but once he gets on the ice, you can tell that he just sees plays that you don't even see coming yet, and he makes plays for guys to skate into space and get the puck. He's just a tremendous athlete."
The generational talent is going to make an already strong Penguins team that much harder to play against in so many facets, including the power play, where Malkin practiced with Crosby, Guentzel, Evan Rodrigues and Kris Letang. Sullivan said that adding a player of Malkin's caliber to the group, which is starting to gain some traction with goals in three of four games coming out of the break, will give it a whole other dimension.
"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," Sullivan said. "He also brings a certain level of instinctive play that's unpredictable. It's hard to prepare for, it's hard to game plan. Because he has the ability to go off the grid with respect to the game plan offensively. He just sees the ice so well. He brings a certain level of unpredictability to our offense."
He brings a certain level of unpredictability to the locker room as well, always joking around with his teammates and keeping the mood light. They truly can't wait for him to make his return, whether it's tomorrow or sometime in the near future.
"Everybody loves Geno," Kapanen said. "He makes us laugh and whenever he's in the lineup, we feel that much more confident. Just having him around the guys again and coming on a trip like this, it's good to see."