Evgeni Malkin was the Penguins' leading scorer and best player during regular season, and seemed posted to have a major impact on the postseason, too.
And while he has yet to record a point in the Penguins' qualifying-round series against Montreal, which is tied, 1-1, going into Game 3 Wednesday night at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Malkin has at least one thing of considerable value: His coach's unflinching endorsement of his performance so far.
"I think (Malkin) has been good," Mike Sullivan said Tuesday, adding that, "He's not playing a high-risk game. He's playing a straight-ahead game.