Four Pittsburgh Penguins step up without Crosby and Malkin, Mantha and Chinakhov lead push

That matters because Sidney Crosby remains out with a lower-body injury, while Evgeni Malkin is serving a five-game suspension after the slash on Rasmus Dahlin. Pittsburgh still sits 32-17-15 heading into Thursday in Vegas.

Mantha has been the finisher. He tied Boston twice in the third period on Sunday, then scored again Tuesday in Carolina, the kind of net-front touch Pittsburgh badly needs without its two Hall of Fame centers.

Chinakhov has been the play driver. His power-play goal started the Bruins comeback, and he piled up four assists over the next two games by attacking off the flank instead of waiting for plays to come to him.

Rickard Rakell belongs in this conversation too. He posted 1-1-2 against Philadelphia and added another helper in Carolina, which is a fair ask from a winger sitting on 12-17-29 in 43 games.

Tommy Novak also changed the mood. He opened the Flyers game on the man advantage, then buried the overtime winner against Boston 17 seconds in.

You can feel fans fighting between skepticism and real hope, because this no longer looks like a group just hanging on.

The hockey reason is simple. Pittsburgh is getting quicker touches through the middle, more traffic at the crease, and enough power-play execution to survive until Crosby and Malkin return.

That is the real test Thursday against Vegas. If Mantha, Chinakhov, Rakell, and Novak keep driving offense, this stops feeling like survival and starts looking like a team nobody wants in the first round.

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