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Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are fueling one desire in Pittsburgh right now
Photo credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are hauling the Pittsburgh Penguins into a postseason push, even when the standings refuse to cooperate.
The funny thing is two things can be true at once.
This is a real comeback story, and it is also a team still hunting for cleaner points.
Crosby has been the engine again, and it isn't subtle.
He's sitting on 25 goals and 51 points in 46 games, and the pace feels stubbornly intentional.
Evgeni Malkin has matched that edge in his own way.
He's at 35 points with 25 assists, and Pittsburgh's power play still runs hotter when he touches the puck first.
Zoom out and the math says they're alive.
The Penguins are 22-14-11 with 55 points, jammed into that Metropolitan Division traffic where one swing week changes everything.
Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin fuel belief
If you're a Penguins fan, you can feel it, they play like they're trying to shame the season into behaving.
The problem is how often a good night turns into a coin flip.
Pittsburgh has just one shootout win this season, and that is the kind of detail that hangs around your neck in April.
The encouraging part is the foundation looks real, not flimsy.
StatMuse has the Penguins near the top of the league on special teams, with the power play around 28.7% and the penalty kill around 83.5%.
That matters because it's repeatable hockey.
When the breakout is crisp, and the entries aren't a dump-and-chase panic button, Crosby and Malkin spend more time attacking tired defenders, not chasing fresh legs.
Now it's about turning pride into points on the road.
The stars have done their loud part already, the next milestone is making the results match the attitude, starting with the next game.
Also read on HockeyUnplugged :
Arturs Silovs breaks his silence after yet another Penguins shootout loss
Arturs Silovs breaks his silence after yet another Penguins shootout loss
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 18|111 ANSWERS Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are fueling one desire in Pittsburgh right now Can Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin carry the Pittsburgh Penguins back to the playoffs? | ||
| Yes | 86 | 77.5 % |
| No | 8 | 7.2 % |
| Fix shootouts | 16 | 14.4 % |
| Depth scores | 1 | 0.9 % |
| List of polls | ||