‘You Think Bad Things’: Malkin Talks Injury, Russia, & His Best Friend

CRANBERRY, Pa. — Evgeni Malkin doesn’t often speak to the media. In his 19th season, media is a formality he engages in once a month or quarter, pending his newsworthiness or interest. But when the Pittsburgh Penguins center speaks, he usually buries a few gems within his chats.

From missing out on the Four Nations Face-Off to his injury and trying to get more info out of Alex Ovechkin regarding Ovechkin’s historic chase of the all-time goals record, Malkin held court Wednesday.

First, the good news. Malkin is healed from his lower body injury. For those who saw it happen on Jan. 25 against the Seattle Kraken, there was immediate concern. It looked bad as his knee when the wrong direction.

For a player with a history of knee surgeries, it was easy to fear the worst. Even he did.

“Before the MRI, you’re nervous so much. Yeah, I’m (didn’t) feel much pain (which) probably helped me, but when it’s your knee and what I had done before–you know, you always think bad things,” Malkin said. “But I’m glad. After the MRI, they said it’s just two or three weeks, and I breathed better after. Yeah, it looked bad. But I’m glad it’s nothing dangerous and like I’m glad to be back.”

Malkin is expected to play this weekend when the Penguins resume play against the Washington Capitals Saturday. And then the Philadelphia Flyers Sunday. He and Bryan Rust have been full participants at practice.

Four Nations

Canada vs. the U.S.A. It hits at the heart of every hockey fan, as the two biggest hockey powers will engage in a high stakes rematch for the Four Nations Face-Off championship Thursday.

The country that has been excluded is Russia. Following that country’s invasion of Ukraine, the international sanctioning body of the Olympics and the International Hockey Federation has prohibited Russia from participating in international events since 2022. The NHL abided by the international bans and did not form a Russian team for the tournament.

The exclusion was not lost on Malkin, even as he joins the hockey world in marveling at his Canadian brother-in-arms Sidney Crosby playing through an injury and proudly representing Canada, something Malkin is quite hopeful he’ll get to one more time at next year’s Olympics.

“I watched the national team play three games. Tomorrow is the big game, I like both countries,” Malkin said. “I hope that Russia is back to their international (play) too. We’re excited to play for sure, and I know this break is healthy for us. It’s good for my body, but I want to play to (play on) the national team.

(Crosby) has an injury. He didn’t play the last two (Penguins) games, and it was 50/50 that maybe he doesn’t play, but I’m glad he’s playing because everyone wants to represent his country. We see how he played in the first game. It’s amazing. He had three assists, I think, and he’s playing amazing games again. It doesn’t matter how he feels, he plays 100%. This is what I like (about) him. He plays 100% every game.”

Malkin would figure to get the call next year if Russia is allowed to return.

Malkin has played 16 games over three Winter Olympic games (2006, 2010, 2014), scoring six goals with nine assists, but did not earn a medal. The closest Malkin came to earning an Olympic medal was Russia’s loss in the Bronze medal game in 2006.

Malkin has also represented Russia at eight World Championships, the last one being in 2019 when Russia earned the Bronze medal.

Joining Malkin at many of those international events is Ovechkin, who is rapidly gaining on Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL goal record. Ovechkin’s assault on the record this season has put him just 16 goals away from sole possession of the record.

The Russian duo had some downtime together in the Miami sunshine. Malkin jetted down to spend time with his family. Malkin wanted to talk about the goals record. Ovechkin shut him down.

“We had dinner in Miami. I saw him, we talked a little bit, and he just (wanted to) relax. I tried to ask him about goals, but he didn’t want to talk too much. He wants to just enjoy it just like relax,” Malkin said. “And I won’t say–maybe a couple of years ago, I didn’t believe he would break the record, but now it’s like no choice. Maybe he won’t do it this year, but he will 100% next year, and of course, he’s Russian. The morale is good for everybody from Russia, I hope. And again, he’s my best friend.”

This season has been a bit of a drop-off for Malkin. He has finished with less than a point per game only twice before in 18 seasons but has only 34 points in 47 games this year, representing the lowest points-per-game total in his career.

Indeed, next year may be Malkin’s last chance to represent his country, and the next 13 months may be his last in the NHL. It’s a long way from “Three years Super League.”