Penguins Miss Malone

The other night, I had the pleasure of the attending the Penguins/Sharks game with my friend and colleague Mike Prisuta from the DVE Morning Show and the Tribune-Review. Mike and I sipped a few adult beverages and watched a hard-fought, tough hockey game that the Pens eventually won in a shootout. (Sidney Crosby got the game winning shootout goal, so you know all was right with the world.) It seems like these gritty efforts have been few and far between for the Penguins these days. Many say the Pens struggles have to do with a so-called sense-of-entitlement the players feel after pushing the Detroit Red Wings to six games in the Stanley Cup finals last spring. Others say the players have tuned out head coach Michel Therrien and his demanding style. My theory: this team misses Ryan Malone and his intense two-way play. In my opinion, Malone was the heart and soul of the Penguins last season. He was the guy who would step up and get physical when needed, he repeatedly paid the price in front of the net which often created scoring chances for the team's more skilled players. Whatever "it" is, Malone had it last year, and the other players seemed to feed off of it. Sure, Malone was playing in the final year of a contract, so there was plenty of motivation for him to play well. But after a great rookie season, "Bugsy" kind of got lost in the shuffle once Crosby, Geno Malkin, and Jordan Staal came into the fray; that is before last season. Immediately after the Penguins season ended, I told anyone who would listen that the Pens should have made Ryan Malone their top off-season priority and not Marian Hossa. My theory was with Crosby and Malkin as your top two centers, anyone with half a brain could play wing on their lines and score 25-30 goals. But, few players can inspire the way Malone can. So now Malone is playing his hockey in Tampa, and the Pens are in danger of not even making the playoffs. Coincidence? I'm not so sure. Now, there's no need to panic: The Penguins are too talented to not make the playoffs, they will get in. But without Malone, how long will they last? Stay tuned.