The Pittsburgh Penguins continue to march while Evgeni Malkin remains quiet.
Heading into Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, the superstar center is mired in the longest scoring drought of his career.
Evgeni Malkin: no points in his last 6 games, longest single-season scoring drought, regular or postseason, in his career (via @EliasSports)
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 18, 2016
The Penguins, it should be noted, have gone 4-2 in the six games, a testament to their depth.
Overall, Malkin has recorded three goals and six assists in 12 postseason games, decent production but far below his regular-season career average of 1.18 points per contest.
Seven of those points came in the first round, and Malkin hasn't hit the score sheet since Game 2 of the second round against Washington.
Still, he doesn't seem to be sweating it.
"Maybe I'm not (scoring), but I'm happy how I played (in Game 2)," Malkin said Monday, according to Frank Seravalli of TSN. "I know the puck is coming and I know the goals coming."
Via Corsica Hockey, Malkin ranks fourth on the Penguins in terms of playoff shot attempts (65), behind Phil Kessel (91), Kris Letang (85), and Sidney Crosby (66). In 5-on-5 play, however, he drops to 11th on the team, meaning most of his action is coming on the power play.
Crosby was in a bit of a funk heading into Game 2, but emerged as a hero with the overtime winner. Time will tell if Malkin can break out in his own right as early as Game 3 on Wednesday in Tampa.
