Penguins 3 takeaways: Evgeni Malkin’s 28 penalty minutes an NHL season-high
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Takeaways from the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 4-2 win over Philadelphia Sunday evening at PPG Paints Arena:
Malkin tossed
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ all-time leader in penalty minutes took several steps Sunday evening to increase the chances that no future player of the franchise will ever catch him.
Evgeni Malkin, who eclipsed Kevin Stevens’ former club record of 1,048 minutes served in the penalty box earlier this season, added a whopping 28 to his own tally by game’s end against Philadelphia, putting him at 1,090 for his career.
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Entering the third period of the Penguins’ eventual 4-2 victory, Malkin had already been assessed for three minor penalties, two for hooking and one for high-sticking.
Then, less than two minutes into the third period, Malkin took his fourth minor of the evening, this time for unsportsmanlike conduct, having gotten upset over a no-call on Philadelphia’s Nick Seeler, who checked Malkin into the offensive boards.
Evgeni Malkin takes his 4th penalty of the game and gets a 10-minute misconduct in the process#LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/jn3EGOUAfp
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights (@HockeyDaily365) April 3, 2023
Malkin let referee Chris Schlenker hear all about it on the way to the penalty box, and was soon thereafter given a 10-minute misconduct as well as a game misconduct, leaving the contest with 18:11 left in regulation.
That gave Malkin a total of 28 penalty minutes on the night, the most by one player in an NHL game this season, per Hockey Reference.
Dallas Stars forward Luke Glendening had previously held that record, having racked up 27 penalty minutes Nov. 26.
“He got high-sticked and (the referees) didn’t see it,” coach Mike Sullivan said of the Malkin episode. “My sense is, he was upset because he got three minor penalties, one of which was a high stick, and then when he gets high-sticked, they didn’t see it.
“…His emotions got the best of him in that circumstance, and (Malkin) and I will have a conversation about that. He’s got to do a better job of controlling his emotions because we need him.”
Heading into Sunday’s game, Malkin had 54 total penalty minutes. Having added just under 52% more to his total in one night, Malkin now has 82 for the season.
Rakell’s ricochet
Forward Rickard Rakell scored one of the odder goals of the season for the Penguins Sunday.
With a bit under 12 minutes remaining in the first period, Rakell launched an off-target one-timer that elevated considerably, striking the upper glass of the boards behind Philadelphia’s net.
But the puck took a strong bounce off the glass, traveling downward and striking Flyers netminder Samuel Ersson in the back of his right leg before deflecting into the net.
Rickard Rakell's one-timer deflects off the glass and into the net off the back of Ersson, what a wacky goal!#LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/zSukYdvv53
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights (@HockeyDaily365) April 2, 2023
“I was bummed that I shot it like 3 feet over the net, and I was just as surprised to see it go in,” Rakell said after the game. “I’ll take it.”
Casey DeSmith, who picked up the win Sunday, offered his own perspective as a goalie.
“That was a pretty wild one,” he said. “That’s never happened to me, knock on wood, but we’ll take it. We’ll take any goals we can get.”
Rakell went on to score a power-play goal with about five minutes left in the first period, giving him 27 on the year, the most he’s registered since 2017-18 with Anaheim.
DeSmith solid
Following two straight starts by Tristan Jarry — March 30 against Nashville and April 1 against Boston — Casey DeSmith was back in net for the Penguins for the first time since an ugly outing March 28 in Detroit, in which he allowed six goals on 24 shots in a 7-4 Red Wings victory.
The Penguins (38-29-10) entered the game in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, and thus, out of a playoff spot, with DeSmith playing a key role in claiming two much-needed points by beating the Flyers.
With the Islanders’ loss to Carolina Sunday (and Florida not playing), the Penguins are back in control of the final wild-card and trail New York by one point for the first spot.
DeSmith made 31 saves on 33 shots while preventing the Flyers (0 for 5) from doing any damage on the many power-play opportunities afforded chiefly by Malkin’s infractions.
“He made some huge saves,” Sullivan said. “He made some big saves, in particular in the third period, on the penalty kill. Once again, we took a barrage of penalties in the third period, which we have to do a better job of not doing, and we put our team in tough spots.
“But Casey was there to make some big saves for us. I thought he had a strong game.”
Late in the first period, with the Penguins leading 2-0, Philadelphia’s Noah Cates sent a centering pass to Travis Konecny, who fired a close-range shot at DeSmith.
When the puck went directly into DeSmith’s glove hand, Konecny couldn’t believe it.
Ruled no goal on the ice, it was quickly reviewed for possibly crossing the goal line while in DeSmith’s glove, with the original call standing.
Casey DeSmith makes a save on Travis Konecny in the 1st period #PITvsPHI #LetsGoPens #BringItToBroad pic.twitter.com/IrFwXzjiIv
— nopClips (@nopClips) April 2, 2023
Later in the third period, with Philadelphia threatening on the power play, DeSmith stretched out to make a another nice save, this time on Owen Tippett.
Casey DeSmith makes a save on Owen Tippett in the 3rd period #PITvsPHI #LetsGoPens #BringItToBroad pic.twitter.com/UVV6L8z3HG
— nopClips (@nopClips) April 3, 2023