Crosby, Malkin pushing Penguins, each other

PITTSBURGH -- Questioning who is the Pittsburgh Penguins’ best player seems rhetorical.

The obvious answer would be forward Sidney Crosby, but the topic is up for debate. Not because of a significant drop in Crosby’s production, but because forward Evgeni Malkin has matched Crosby’s every step this season.

Crosby is widely considered the NHL's best player, but he has experienced a lackluster season by his standards. That despite leading the Penguins with 70 points and being two points behind the NHL lead entering their game Sunday against the Detroit Red Wings (12:30 p.m. ET; NBC, SN).

"I think we try to help our team get momentum," Crosby said. "When [Malkin] goes out there, has a good shift and his line's buzzing around, we definitely want to follow it up and use that and continue that momentum and hopefully we can help each other. If we're out there and we have a good shift and we can wear the other team down, hopefully they can take advantage of that tired group.

"I think it's good. You want to have that healthy competition, but I think we definitely try to get the best out of one another."

Crosby is a game-time decision Sunday after deciding he could not play Saturday in a 2-0 loss to the Boston Bruins; he told doctors he did not feel well minutes before the game.

Crosby's 10th NHL season could be described as streaky. The Penguins' captain has shown spurts when he has undoubtedly looked like the League's top player. One example came Thursday, when he scored three points, including a goal, in a 6-4 win against the Edmonton Oilers.

Crosby was clearly the best player on the ice that night. But Malkin, who won't play Sunday after he sustained a lower-body injury in his first shift against Boston, has been the more consistent this season.

Malkin, whose 68 points are two fewer than Crosby, hasn’t suffered the same lengthy dips in production Crosby has. Malkin's points and Penguins-leading 28 goals have been evenly distributed, with his longest scoreless stretch a three-game drought from Dec. 27-31.

Crosby has had three such droughts (Nov. 29-Dec. 4, Jan. 20-28, Feb. 15-19), experiencing about one per month since December.

Their roles have reversed, at least temporarily. Throughout their careers, Crosby has been known for his consistent output, and Malkin has been known for his ability to take over a game at any given time.

The Penguins aren't complaining. Their stars' combined efforts have allowed them to keep pace in a Metropolitan Division that has Pittsburgh five points behind the New York Rangers entering Sunday's action.

"They are just as talented as when I left," said defenseman Ben Lovejoy, who returned to Pittsburgh prior to the 2015 NHL Trade Deadline after playing parts of three seasons with the Anaheim Ducks. "They're so fun to play with. They're so fun to watch. And it's so nice to know that they're on my team now, or I’m on their team, and I don't have to face them."

Crosby and Malkin each has showcased his tendency to elevate the play of those around them this season. Forward Chris Kunitz, the only other top-six wing who played in Pittsburgh last season, said each plays slightly differently but generates the same results.

"They come through the neutral zone maybe a little bit different," Kunitz said. "[Malkin] likes to carry the puck through and Sid plays it with his speed. But I always say they kind of end up at the same places on the ice with great vision. They draw people to them and open up areas.

"If you find those spots, they find you with the puck because they're that talented."

The three additions to the top six each has experienced a dramatic production boost since joining the Penguins. David Perron has scored 11 goals in 29 games since being traded to Pittsburgh on Jan. 2, six more than he scored with the Edmonton Oilers in 38 games, and Patric Hornqvist has scored one more goal in 22 fewer games than he did with the Nashville Predators last season. They are Crosby's wings.

Forward Blake Comeau has tripled his goal output from last season. After five goals with the Columbus Blue Jackets last season, Comeau has skated among Pittsburgh’s top six for the majority of his first season with the Penguins and plays right wing alongside Malkin and Kunitz.

In 11 games against Pittsburgh last season, including six Stanley Cup Playoff games, Comeau had one assist. He’s glad to be on the other side.

"I think they're a little bit different on the ice," Comeau said. "I think Sid's a give-and-go kind of guy. Straight lines. He's always coming up the middle with speed. Where [Malkin] does a really good job carrying the puck through the neutral zone, finding time and space and for me; playing on his line, it's just a matter of trying to get open, get in front of the net and create havoc because when he does have the puck, he can make plays that a lot of other guys can't."

The Penguins are aiming to catch the Rangers and New York Islanders in the Metropolitan Division, and their top two centers are involved in the race for the Art Ross Trophy.

The Penguins are invested in how many points the two produce, because if Crosby and Malkin are scoring, it helps the Penguins' chances of winning.

"I think they always push each other," coach Mike Johnston said. "Even look at practice today (Friday). I thought both guys in practice really elevated their level out there. The scoring race, for me and I'm sure for them at this time of the year, is very secondary to where we're going as a team. I rarely look at the standings. I hear them every once in a while with some stats.

"But where they are in the scoring race is not as important as where we are in the standings."

Several of their teammates said they enjoy watching Crosby and Malkin compete for trophies, but it consistently was based on how their ability to win those coincides with positive results.

"I think it’s fun to watch them hunt those titles," Lovejoy said. "You can tell, they may not say that they want it, but you can watch their play and watch how hungry they are. And I think that that ultimately fuels the guys around them. We want them to set those League records and we want to watch them play with [the records] because it drives our team to ultimately be successful.

"The more successful those two guys are, the better and better the Pens are going to do."

Crosby and Malkin rarely have had the opportunity to compete with each other near the top of the League scoring race. Each has won the Art Ross twice, but on most occasions, one or the other has missed a significant chunk of a season that hasn’t allowed the two push for the trophy simultaneously.

The one exception came during the 2008-09 season, when Malkin won the scoring title with 113 points in 82 games, and Crosby finished third with 103 points in 77 games.

"We don't talk about it much," Crosby said. "[Malkin] doesn't talk about it much. I think we're just out there trying to do our best. We haven't really been in this position. I don't know if we have before, necessarily. So, we'll see.

"Maybe as time goes along, we'll have more fun with it, but it's pretty low-key at this point."