Evgeni Malkin is back, but his team never wavered without him. His addition only helped ignite an already potent offense. During Geno’s five game suspension the Penguins went 2-1-2. Goals weren’t hard to come by during that stretch either. Three of those games were during the team’s most brutal road-trip. Before the season, people looked at this trip as a gauntlet but thought little about it because the Penguins were supposed to be well out of it by this point. Well, they are far from out of it as they look like they can be a legitimate contender. This game against Colorado was a perfect example as to why they need more respect than just a team that is going to make the playoffs. The first period the Avs peppered Silovs with 18 shots scoring twice. Those numbers by themselves would lead you to believe that the Penguins were going to get smoked. However, the other side of the stat sheet showed 4 goals on 10 shots in the first period. The goals weren’t fluky. Far from it. They were all displays of beautiful offense, taking full advantage of a team that was more worried about scoring highlight reel goals than they were defending their own house. Even with a healthy Sidney Crosby the Penguins shouldn’t engage in a track-meet with the Avalanche and credit to Dan Muse for recognizing that too. After the first period they only allowed 10 shots, and no goals against. They took their lead and then they suffocated the best offense in the NHL. That’s the sign of a team that can win in the playoffs. During the first period the Av’s looked like the 1980 Soviet Union team, every pass was tape to tape, and it looked like they were an All-Star team. The Penguins held the fort though and they made the mighty Avs pay every single chance they could.

The Penguins weren’t struggling to score with Geno, and Sid, but it certainly doesn’t hurt when you get either of those guys back into the lineup. It looked like we went back in time last night. Malkin was galloping all night long. His hands and vision were a step above everyone else not named Nathan MacKinnon. Both of Geno’s goals were absolute beauties. Both came after he took an offensive zone penalty during his first shift. It was a classic Evgeni Malkin game. He is so beloved in this city for games like this; as he had no Sid, contract strife, and coming off a dumb suspension but strapped up and dominated the game.

I need to make note of the hustle, and pass, by Chinakhov to set Malkin up on his second goal of the night. He continued to be an offensive dynamo during Geno’s suspension despite idiots in the media saying he’s a top-tier lineup merchant. Geno himself made a hell of a pass to Bryan Rust in the second period to put the Penguins up 5-2, Geno’s third and final point of the evening.

Chinakhov was electric offensively during Malkin’s absence and it doesn’t look like he plans on slowing down, but the two players who have kept this team afloat are Bryan Rust and Erik Karlsson. Rust, unlike Karlsson and Malkin, only finished the game with two points. Obviously, that means Karlsson notched banked three points. Erik Karlsson is simply back to being Ottawa Erik Karlsson. I mean seriously, watch him every single time he touches the puck something electric is going to happen. The mistakes that happened during his two years with Sully have all but evaporated and now he’s playing with the level of confidence that is going to make him a first ballot hall of famer.

That’s 14 points in EK65s last 10 games. All of those were without Sid, and five without Geno. He is the often forgotten about hall of famer on this team, but his presence is hard to deny for fans of this team this year. The new generation of Cale Makar and Nate had absolutely no response for the old dogs in this game. Karlsson and Malkin danced around them all night long. This is Sidney Crosby’s team, it always will be, but Erik Karlsson is this teams MVP. He has 49 points in 62 games but his impact on a nightly basis is significantly more prominent than that.

You’ll likely note that another Dubas trade acquisition scored on a Karlsson assist as Elmer Soderblom scored his first as a Penguin. He later added an assist on the team’s 7th goal. Elmer has looked good for bursts during his first few games with the team, but if he starts putting it together offensively look out. The team has shown all year that they are deep offensively, and they might have added another piece at the deadline. When the team is back to full strength, they will have an entire line of young NHL capable players who will likely not see the ice; Soderblom, A. Hayes, Koivunen. That isn’t even mentioning Rutger McGroarty who is also NHL ready. What an insane year for Kyle Dubas he has risen this team from the ashes with savvy move after savvy move.

Speaking of Dubas, Geno talked about his contract situation after the game. Geno’s words can sometimes be taken out of context because of the language barrier. However, it seemed like Geno was hinting that Dubas will indeed give him a contract after the season if Geno wants to continue playing. Now, Geno mentioned the possibility of playing for two more season and that’s where some strife could be had. Playing for two more years is fine, but it will have to be on two separate one-year deals. The Penguins don’t want to put themselves in a position where he retires and they are left with dead money on the books because it’s a 35+ contract. I really doubt Geno is going to have a problem with that either.

The Penguins showed last night that they can play any style. They showed they can play with any team in this league. Making the playoffs is a must now because it’s starting to look like they could actually do some damage in said tournament. The Avs are great, their record indicates such, but they sipping on their own kool-aid too much. They zipped around the ice in the first period, but when things didn’t go their way, they tucked their tail and went inside. The Penguins never stop wagging their tail, they are always a dog on a bone this season. It doesn’t matter who the opposition is, what the score is, or even who is playing in the lineup this team will never quit. Those are attributes of a winning hockey team and it’s starting to look like the Avalanche don’t have those qualities. The Avs are emblematic of what happens to a boxer when they put on their silk pajamas as they play like they won the Stanley Cup in November. The Penguins intend to win it for real in June though.