Evgeni Malkin, Penguins Ready To Return To Playoffs This Season

The Pittsburgh Penguins are ready to return to the playoffs after back-to-back seasons of missing out.

After years of domination, Pittsburgh has found itself in a bit of a rough patch after missing the playoffs over the last two seasons. It marked the first time since the 2005-06 campaign that they’ve missed the playoffs in two more seasons in a row — as the dominance of the Sidney Crosby era left them in the postseason from the 2006-07 season through the 2021-22 season. That, of course, included three Stanley Cups.

Part of that dominance has included Evgeni Malkin, who has been the ideal superstar to follow Crosby in the Penguins’ run of dominance. Malkin, 38, continues to shine for the Penguins after recording 67 points in his 18th season last year.

The alternate captain shared his thoughts on the shortcomings over the last season after training camp practice Thursday, stating that he wants the summer to be shorter this time around with eyes set on the playoffs.

“My personality, it’s win every game,” Malkin said, as transcribed by TribLIVE’s Seth Rorabaugh. “It’s what I do all my life. The last two seasons, it’s not fun when we lost. We (did) not make the playoffs. It’s not great for the city, not great for fans because we have amazing fans. They support us so well. Here, all leadership — me, Sid, (Letang) — we want to win every game. We don’t want a long summer again. We want to play in the playoffs. Any team can win in the playoffs, the Stanley Cup.”

Pittsburgh will begin their road back to the playoffs starting with the season opener on Oct. 9 against the New York Rangers.

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