Evgeni Malkin throughout his rich and glorious career was perhaps the most underrated hockey player of his generation. Everyone talks about this fact. And for quite a long time. But the overall picture of the world does not fundamentally change – Gino, for all his greatness and enormous baggage of achievements, has not achieved due recognition. Although Evgeniy himself makes it clear that he is not bothered by how much they say and write about him. He has enough support from his family and friends.
“I'm not one of those guys who wants to be surrounded by the media. I like to keep quiet a little. I just want to play hockey. People probably want to know a little more about my personal life. But I'm a little private. Maybe “My English wasn't very good before, and I didn't talk to the press too much. Then again, that's just me. I'm okay with that because I know I'm a good player,” the NHL press service quotes Malkin as saying.
But we We will not remain silent about Gino’s successes. If only for the simple reason that at 37 years old and with a considerable number of injuries behind him, Evgeniy continues to perform at a high level and show excellent results.
Already, Malkin is the second best Russian sniper in the NHL in history. At the end of 2023, he surpassed the great Sergei Fedorov in goals. Only Alexander Ovechkin is ahead, whom no one will catch up with in the foreseeable and not so future. We asked Fedorov himself, whom Gino considers the greatest Russian hockey player of all time, about Malkin’s recent achievement, and Sergei Viktorovich did not skimp on kind words addressed to his compatriot.
“”Congratulations to Zhenya, I'm glad for his goals, he's done well. Records are created for this purpose, so that they are obeyed by other players. Malkin is the striker who could achieve such success. Good health to him and continue in the same spirit. Especially Evgeniy is a good assistant in Pittsburgh. It doesn’t surprise me that Zhenya shows such high performance at his age. He has enormous talent and skill. And injuries and something else… Skill will not go anywhere, and Evgeniy proves it. He called me the best Russian hockey player in history? I am grateful to Zhenya for these words. We played against each other quite often. I think his words are a tribute to our entire generation. To all the guys who entered the NHL a little earlier than the players of Malkin’s generation. Thanks to Zhenya for these words. I wish him to continue to score: the more, the better. And, of course, victories in the Stanley Cup,” said Fedorov.
On the horizon, Evgeniy is already sparkling with might and main a truly great achievement – 500 goals for career in the NHL regular season. In the entire history of the league, only 47 players have achieved this mark. This season, Gino can join such an elite company and become the fourth active hockey player in it after Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby and Steven Stamkos.
“Evgeniy has many good teammates with whom he plays in Pittsburgh. His achievements at his age indicate that he is a true professional. He loves hockey and shows results that are worthy of his name. Will he reach the 500 mark goals? I wish him good luck in this,” said Vladislav Tretyak, President of the Russian Hockey Federation, in a conversation with him.
Evgeni Malkin took a new step towards the “500 club” in the derby against the Philadelphia Flyers. Today's match in the Battle of Pennsylvania was the third of the current season. The two previous meetings ended in defeat for Pittsburgh, but this time the Penguins got even in one game. Yes, how!
Already in the first minute of the meeting, the Pens gained the right to a majority and immediately converted the extra one. All thanks to Malkin – his spectacular pass allowed Rikard Rakell to open the scoring. All I had to do was hit the empty goal. Soon, “Pittsburgh” developed the success, and Evgeni Malkin finally secured it at the beginning of the third period. Gino made a great interception in the neutral zone, beat his teammate and executed a magnificent throw into the far top corner. Beauty!
This goal was Malkin’s 486th in his NHL regular season career. According to this indicator, Gino surpassed Brian Bellows and rose to a clear 51st place on the list of the best snipers in league history. Until the end of the championship, Pittsburgh will have to play 43 more matches. Enough to hit 14 pucks.
In a recent interview, Evgeni Malkin said that he intends to conquer this symbolic mark. And Gino taught us: if he strives for something, he achieves his goal. The Russian is in good spirits and fighting spirit, yes. By the way, he demonstrated this once again today.
After the assist and goal, the Russian went for Gordie Howe's hat-trick. A full-fledged fight, which would be included in the protocol as such, and not just rudeness, did not happen, but these are formalities. Let us just note that Gino was never embarrassed when he saw three opponents in front of him at once, and let everyone feel what his fist smelled like. American Cam York and Canadians Travis Sanheim and Scott Laughton, the three of them attacking Malkin alone, will be smarter next time. Especially Laughton, who missed a spectacular jab and a couple of kind words from Evgeniy afterwards.
What conclusions they will draw from this will become known only at the end of February, when the Pens and Flyers play their last head-to-head match in regular season. In the meantime, the Penguins are only puzzled by their tournament position. The fight for a place in the playoffs is already in full swing.
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