Typically, when a team's franchise player goes down with an injury, there is an expected dip in a team's production and win/loss ratio. However, when you're the Pittsburgh Penguins and you have the luxury of having two franchise players, not only can you keep up the pace, but you can lean on Evgeni Malkin and also elevate your team's performance and actually excel during adversity.
Such is the case with a 2019-20 Penguins team that currently sits first overall in the NHL in points since Sidney Crosby's injury early in the season.
Crosby has only played 17 games during the 2019-20 campaign, during which the Penguins have dealt with a litany of injuries to key players, including the aforementioned Malkin, who has absolutely taken the reins and shouldered the heavy burden of leading an injury-depleted team to 2nd place in the Metropilitan Division and 3rd in the Eastern Conference standings.
How good has Malkin been? Well, he has scored 11 goals and added 25 assists for a total of 36 points in 25 games since Crosby has been out of the lineup. If that wasn't already incredible enough on it's own, it might surprise you to learn that Malkin has posted 196 points in 145 career NHL games in which Crosby was out of the Pens' lineup.
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The Pens managing to rack up 40 points since Crosby has been sidelined is impressive enough in it's own right. But learning that those 40 points rank first among all NHL teams over that span is even more unbelievable.
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The team deserves a lot of credit for how it has handled adversity this season, and though a lot of the credit goes to Malkin and his incredible stretch, you also have to look at the man behind the bench as a huge reason for the team's success. Mike Sullivan is an absolute gem of a coach and though Malkin has been otherworldly in Crosby's absence, the Pens do not pull off such a feat without also having a coach like Sullivan who, just days ago, celebrated his 200th win with the Pens.
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Congrats to Mike Sullivan and his resilient Penguins on an incredible string of games.
