The Pittsburgh Penguins just had a 10-game win streak. Jake Guentzel just had an 18-game points streak. Behold the majesty of 12 consecutive refreshing Penguins notes. Never stop never stopping! (Except the Penguins and Guentzel both got stopped.)

• No one said Evgeni Malkin’s return would disrupt the Penguins’ chemistry. He’s a great teammate. His talent is obvious. But if Malkin fails to play 200 feet, makes mistakes at the blue lines and commits petulant penalties, he’s a threat to the team’s structure. (Structure differs from chemistry.) Malkin was near-perfect in his season debut Tuesday at Anaheim, scoring twice. But he took a dumb offensive-zone penalty Thursday at Los Angeles and made a few horrible turnovers. These Penguins aren’t the Penguins from 2016 and ’17. There’s a fine line. Structure is more crucial now.

• When Malkin plays recklessly, it can trickle down to teammates, not least Kris Letang. The Penguins need Letang to play exactly as he has. (He also had a nightmare Thursday.)

• Sidney Crosby has five goals in 24 games. He needs to score more. He probably knows that.

• Jeff Carter looked good playing on Malkin’s left wing upon Malkin’s return, netting two goals at Anaheim. Carter would score more on Malkin’s wing, take faceoffs better and help with defensive responsibilities. But Carter isn’t fast enough to forecheck like coach Mike Sullivan wants from his wings. He’s also the perfect third-line center, which Sullivan requires. Crosby, Malkin, Carter and Teddy Blueger are the NHL’s strongest group of centers.

• This is the final season of Carter’s contract, but he wants to keep playing. The Penguins should be OK with that, but not at his current cap hit of $5.3 million. Not at 37.

• Don’t get mad because Crosby and Letang weren’t selected to the NHL All-Star event Feb. 5 in Las Vegas, even though Letang’s omission is crazy and excluding Crosby is like the NBA not picking LeBron James, which would never happen. But it’s likely accurate to say Crosby and Letang would rather have the time off. All-Star events are useless to everybody but the host team and city and players participating for the first time. Representing each team kills the concept of the best playing against the best, and three-on-three isn’t real hockey. (BTW, Guentzel is deserving and could make it via the schlocky “Last Man In” ballot.)

• Tristan Jarry is the lone Penguins representative. He might be the NHL’s best goaltender. He ranks third in goals-against average (2.05) and save percentage (.929). No goalie is better at anticipating a cross-rink pass without selling out the short side. He’s at the top of his crease and controls rebounds. But Jarry still plays in the shadow of last season’s playoff debacle vs. the New York Islanders. There’s only one way for Jarry to redeem himself.

• Evan Rodrigues must keep his position on the left half-wall of the top power play when everybody is healthy. It’s between Rodrigues or Bryan Rust. Rust is a more proven producer and better puck retriever. But Rodrigues knows how to play that spot, and he shoots.

• Defenseman John Marino looked like a future star as a rookie in 2019-20. He looked like a future AHL player last season and at the start of this one. But Marino has the arrow pointed up lately. Bad pinches have killed Marino, but he’s doing that more wisely. Also helping is Marino’s partnership with Marcus Pettersson, who has become a textbook defensive defenseman.

• Besides last season’s trade for Carter, GM Ron Hextall hasn’t made any huge moves since taking over. But his addition of bottom-six speed has given Sullivan the tools to deploy his preferred speed-based style. Danton Heinen, Brock McGinn and the retention of Rodrigues keep Sullivan’s foot on the accelerator.

• The Penguins’ ascension from 50-50 playoff team to being a lock for the postseason means Malkin and Letang won’t be traded at the deadline despite their pending free agency. (That probably wouldn’t have happened anyway.) Now it’s a matter of what Hextall does to boost his team’s playoff chances. But there are no glaring needs beyond a better backup goalie than Casey DeSmith and a better bottom-pair defenseman than Chad Ruhwedel. Anyway, what does Hextall have to offer? Teams won’t be lining up to get Kasperi Kapanen. The Penguins simply can’t trade draft picks. That’s got to stop.

• Edmonton superstar Connor McDavid turned 25 on Thursday. He has 214 goals and 413 assists. He’s averaging 1.425 points. He’s a two-time MVP, a three-time scoring champion and a four-time NHL First-Team All-Star. But he’s won one playoff series. By the time he was 25, Crosby had stats and individual honors, too. But he’d also lifted a Stanley Cup, reached another final and won 11 playoff series. Crosby is a serial winner. McDavid is a guy who gets points.

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