Malkin on Painful Goal: "Two Points and Help the Team to Win, I'm Glad"

The first thought that went through Evgeni Malkin's mind after Sidney Crosby's shot caught him right above the shinpad before deflecting into the net in Thursday's 4-2 win over Florida?
"It's pain," Malkin said with a laugh after the Penguins practiced Saturday in Raleigh ahead of their matchup with the Hurricanes on Sunday.

At first, Malkin's leg went a little bit numb, and he felt a little bit scared, since it's the same knee he had gotten surgically repaired last summer. He had to be helped off the ice and into the locker room after the goal, which came 8:05 into the third.
"It happens. It sucks," Kris Letang said. "It's like, you get it there and your leg goes dead. Can't really stand on it. It's a tough spot. But he's tough."
The Penguins medical staff did an X-ray right away, and it showed that nothing was broken. After 10-15 minutes, the pain started to ease as the bruise began to show. Malkin put ice on it, and he was able to walk after about half an hour.
The Penguins had a day off Friday in Florida, which helped from a recovery standpoint. Malkin then skated with the group this afternoon, saying afterward that he'll be good to go for tomorrow's 5 PM puck drop.
"It feels not 100%, but almost," Malkin said. "A little bit hurt still, a little bit bruised, but so much better from yesterday. It's good we have a couple days before the game. I hope tomorrow it feels better a little bit, for sure."

The Two-Headed Monster had some good chirps for each other about the whole situation, with Malkin saying that Crosby told him, "Next time, I shoot harder." He added with a grin, "I mean, I'm lucky it's Sid's shot and not Tanger or Guentz. We know Sid does not shoot so hard."
All jokes aside, Crosby came into the room after the game and hugged Malkin, apologizing for catching him in a bad spot. But Malkin said it was just bad luck, as that's a play they've tried before.
"I know Sid, on the ice, when he looks to me - I know he shoots to my pants. Because sometimes, we are practicing that, and we talk - if you can't pass it on ice, shoot up for the pants, and empty net," Malkin said.
"It's a goal, I am so happy because if I don't score, it feels so much worse. Two points and help the team to win, I'm glad. Body's recovered, for sure. But I'm glad I play tomorrow. Nothing bad. It's all good."
Malkin has been a huge part of the team's recent run, where they have won seven straight - the longest active streak in the NHL - and picked up points in 16 of their last 18 to go 14-2-2 over that span. The stretch earlier in the season where Pittsburgh went 0-6-1 feels like it's in the very distant past.
"We always know we can beat any team in this league," Malkin said. "We had a tough seven games, but we did not stop working every day. We watch video every day. We talk to the coaches, what's better for the team. We have great leadership, great group, great experience. We know if we do the right things, play right, we win. You see the last eight games, we show everything. We win faceoffs, PK … power play starts working … and we start winning."
Malkin enters Sunday's contest riding a seven-game point streak, notching two goals and nine assists in that span. Only Edmonton's Connor McDavid (11), Toronto's Michael Bunting (10) and Minnesota's Mats Zuccarello (9) have longer active point streaks than him.
Malkin is also one of just four players along with McDavid, Boston's David Pastrnak and Vancouver'sJ.T. Miller to have multiple point streaks of seven or more games this season. For Malkin, confidence has been key from both an individual and team standpoint.
"The most important thing is confidence," Malkin said. "We believe in every player. I'm scoring goals and started to feel better. It's so much better when we have more fun and more confidence."