Malkin caught up with Mogilny in the sniper list
If you did not know, we hasten to inform you that today Evgeny Malkin has caught up with Alexander Mogilny in the list of the best NHL snipers of all time.
Yes, Gino is making great strides towards the “500 Club” for those who have scored 500 goals in regular NHL championships.
By the way, so far only Alexander Ovechkin (822) has reached this peak among the Russians. But Malkin can and should become second. He has 6 (2+4) points in three matches of the new season, only Toronto striker Auston Matthews has a better result, who scored two hat-tricks in a row (6+0).
Evgeniy also stood out in the match against Calgary (5:2), where he was recognized as the second star. After two periods, Pittsburgh trailed (0:1), but scored two goals in the first 44 seconds of the third period. The second of these was Malkin throwing a luxurious pass to Riley Smith, who found himself alone in front of the keeper.
And then Gino himself scored the winning goal. He broke through the right flank and beat the goalkeeper… After the match, a correspondent spoke to him in the Pittsburgh locker room.
“We are much stronger than last year.”
—How surprised are you that there are so many changes in Pittsburgh? Almost a third of the team has changed.
“This is the first time in my career that this has happened.” This is of course a surprise. But when everything is going well, no one changes anyone. Last season, for all known reasons, we didn’t make the playoffs. After that, the management was immediately changed. And the new management decided to update the programming. I think they did a good job. Because you can see how motivated the guys are, how they want to play. And there were good exchanges. Our team has changed noticeably, but we have become much stronger than last year.
— What was your reaction when you learned that you would be playing in the same team as Erik Karlsson?
“There have been a lot of rumors about it, almost all summer. It looks like an exchange is about to happen, and then there’s a sort of calm. But then there seemed to be an exchange again… To be honest, I didn’t believe it until the very end. Therefore, this completely surprised me. Nonetheless, our new general manager did everything he could to bring Karlsson to Pittsburgh. It is clear that such a defender will bring a lot to our team. He will help in the majority and plays a lot of time on defense. And it’s not for nothing that he received the Norris Trophy last year as the best defenseman in the league. We have to give him a little time, and the goals and everything else will come.
– You played against him a lot – for example, everyone remembers the second overtime of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals between Pittsburgh and Ottawa in 2017. You ended up winning the Stanley Cup. What’s it like playing with Karlsson?
— To be honest, he reads the play very well. He is very quick, and when the puck crosses the boards, Eric takes a step forward and intercepts a lot. It’s such a distinctive characteristic of him. That’s not to say he’s a physically strong defender, of course. He’s a different type of player. He shoots often and skates a lot along the blue line in the offensive zone. But you want to have such a defender in your team. Their style is somewhat similar to that of Kris Letang. We now have the three optimal pairs of defenders. And that’s why we have to play better defensively.
“I would like to reach a round number this season”
– You have a new line partner – Riley Smith, who just won the Stanley Cup with Vegas. Are you comfortable playing with him?
— So far, thank God, it turns out that we have played well the last two matches. It’s a pleasure to play alongside such a striker. Everyone knows what level Smith is. Plus there is confidence, he won the Stanley Cup. If we continue in the same spirit, everything will be fine.
And I also have confidence, because I know that our trio (with Smith and Ricard Rakel) will not be changed every game. I think the coach wants us to continue playing like this all season. I hope that’s the case. And I want to believe that we will come out of this without serious injuries. Therefore, for me it is also a strong motivation, because we have a good relationship and no excuses will help us if something does not work out.
I think for me it’s one of the best trios in a long time. We will try to justify the trust.
-You look rested. For the first time in your NHL career, you missed the playoffs and had a long summer. And now you play like you took 10 years!
– I would like to, but it’s too early to say – the season is long and everything could change in the next match. I think that not only me, but the whole Pittsburgh team is playing with a lot of desire. It’s clear that the guys are in a good mood. Even losing 0:1 against Calgary, there was a good atmosphere in the locker room after two periods. We supported each other.
Yes, I feel pretty good and you are right that I have rested. I want to play hockey longer! In addition, I understand that we have a good bond, a solid team. The new general manager does everything to win. We must at least make the playoffs. It’s too early to tell, but that’s all I can think of.
And I will say myself that I miss hockey. I would like to achieve feats this year, eliminate big numbers. It always stays in my head. I’m not focused on it, but sometimes we think about it or read somewhere…
— You have 27 goals left to score 500 goals in your career…
— We’ll try, and I’m happy with the excitement around Pittsburgh in the last two games. But this is only the beginning of the championship. Let’s not go too far.
Author: Oleg Mezheritsky
Source : MatchTV
I’m Emma Smith, a dedicated journalist and avid storyteller. I have been writing for news websites for the past 5 years, reporting on hockey news and delivering in-depth analysis of the sport. In my current role as Author at Athletistic, I write about hockey events from around the world to keep followers up-to-date with what’s happening in the sport.
