How Malkin Can Turn Things Around

Despite being at the top of the Metropolitan Division, the Pittsburgh Penguins haven’t been clicking on all cylinders as of yet in 2013-2014. While star Sidney Crosby has been great in carrying the offense, his main running mate Evgeni Malkin has struggled by his standards. As the first quarter of the season wraps up, how can the former MVP and star fantasy hockey performer get back on track and make Pittsburgh a true Stanley Cup contender?

After getting off to a solid start this season, Malkin has hit a rough patch the last few weeks. He has only found the goal once in his last 10 contests, and he is not creating a lot of opportunities for others like in the past as well. The timing for him seems to be off, and a lot of that could be due to the injury suffered by James Neal. The winger should return fairly soon, and that would give Malkin a familiar face to play off of on his line.

Another option for Pittsburgh could be to switch up their lines by possibly breaking up the Crosby-Chris Kunitz-Pascal Dupuis trio. That would be a tough pill to swallow though, because they have been perhaps the best line in fantasy hockey all season long. Messing with chemistry there could get Malkin back on track, but throw off Crosby. The one good thing about Crosby is that he seems to be much better playing with different teammates, while Malkin is more of a creature of habit.

 The Penguins still look great on paper, but Malkin is the type of player who can make a huge difference in the postseason. Obviously, there is a lot of time to sort it all out by then, but Malkin needs to get back to at least All-Star form. Right now he is getting lost in the shuffle on offense, and his line is struggling.