Mark Madden: Malkin line among many things to like about Penguins' strong start

The Pittsburgh Penguins face a stiff early-season test as they hit the road for five games, including a particularly challenging three-game swing through Western Canada.

Edmonton and Calgary are legit contenders. Vancouver is a dark horse experiencing a bad patch.

But there’s lots to like about the Penguins’ 3-0-1 start, ignoring that they blew a 2-0 third-period lead at Montreal this past Monday. The Canadiens aren’t good.

It should also be disregarded that the Penguins scored six goals in each of their three home games, falling one short of treating those attending to grub gratis at Eat’n Park as per the revived promotion: Seven goals equals free chili.

It screams conspiracy, especially because a goal was waved off in Thursday’s 6-1 victory over Los Angeles. It’s reminiscent of the corn dogs scene from “Semi-Pro”: “We don’t even got corn dogs!”

Perhaps the best development to date is the success of the Evgeni Malkin-Bryan Rust-Jason Zucker line. Malkin and Rust have five points each, Zucker four.

But, beyond stats, the north-south styles of Rust and Zucker point Malkin in the right direction. Malkin does less of his preferred east-west. He plays faster, with less risk and more economically. Malkin has no choice. Rust and Zucker only know one method. (Rust’s development as a player has been phenomenal: 161 points in 175 games dating to the start of the 2019-20 season. I had Rust pegged as bottom-six enhancement talent.)

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Zucker scored points of a different kind Monday when he whacked Los Angeles’ Brendan Lemieux, who previously had elbowed Jake Guentzel in the head. (Lemieux is the son of ex-NHL sociopath Claude. The rotten apple never falls far from the toilet.)

The Penguins don’t want to engage in that fashion on a regular basis. It’s not their style. But sometimes you need to let ’em know you’re there. Zucker did.

Zucker is a good, efficient, winning hockey player. He just needs to stay healthy. Zucker played just 41 games last season, scoring eight times.

The Penguins are pouring in goals: 20 in four games. But that’s been known to happen. It’s part of the team’s tradition, like the returning RoboPenguin (gag).

But goalie Tristan Jarry has been sharp, not least Monday when his first-period excellence allowed the Penguins to lead 3-0 after 20 minutes despite being outplayed and outshot 16-9. Jarry was excellent, the Penguins a bit lucky.

Jarry also showed his combative side when he got involved at the tail end of the fracas between Zucker and Lemieux. Jarry shouldn’t make that a habit. But he’s got fire.

Jarry is the key to the Penguins’ success. Any goaltender is, for any team, but Jarry has the talent to reach a new level. If that comes at a time when there’s a paucity of truly top-shelf goalies in the NHL, it would give the Penguins a distinct advantage. More than they had with the spicy-pork minor-league guy, anyway.

I count two elite goalies in the NHL: Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy and the New York Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin. Russia will have a tough time picking a starter for the 2024 World Cup of Hockey. If Russia is allowed to play, that is.

Monday’s game at Edmonton is a marquee matchup between the Penguins’ Sidney Crosby and the Oilers’ Connor McDavid. Not that the NHL will promote it much.

McDavid is the NHL’s best player. But, even at 35, Crosby isn’t as far behind as some think. With seven points in his first three games, perhaps Crosby is poised to make a late-career run at NHL MVP. (His odds are +3500. That’s a great value bet.)

Matchups like Monday’s should mean more to McDavid than to Crosby. McDavid is 25 and hasn’t even been to a Stanley Cup Final. Crosby won a Cup at 21, appearing in his second final. Until McDavid wins, he’s not Crosby. McDavid is just the best player. He really can’t prove much more head-to-head, but Monday will be fun.

Monday also will show the Penguins how fast they are, or aren’t. McDavid might be hockey’s fastest star ever, effectively making moves while in absolute top gear. The Oilers are fast, and even faster because they try to keep up with McDavid.

The Penguins can’t outskate Edmonton. But they’ll certainly try.