Do you know the Malkin Man?

Why yes, I know the Malkin Man that lives on Pittsburgh Lane. People, the NHL has stumbled upon something exciting: a new set of faces to carry the league. Last season marked the rookie years of Ovechkin and Crosby. Both lived up to expectation (I had the pleasure of seeing Ovechkin in person when Washington came to visit Los Angeles last year. That guy is the real deal). And now, as if the NHL gods just knew that Gary Bettman & co. would find a way to horribly botch the marketing of their new superstars, another 20-year-old phenom falls into his lap: Evgeni Malkin. Some people are calling him the best player in the world, right now. Are they wrong? Maybe. There is a guy in the league by the name of Joe Thornton and Jaromir Jagr, while getting up there in age, probably still has something to say on the matter. But not many can argue with this.

Last night may have been the prime example of why I so desperately need a TiVo (no need to remind me that I live in the dark ages), as flipping between the Kings and Lakers (another strong victory for the Purple and Gold without the Mamba -- even if it was only Golden State... Odom looked terrific again) games was a trick in itself (then Lost came on). But I did see all the Penguins goals, including Malkin's OT winner (his second). I gotta tell you, Pittsburgh is the luckiest franchise in the world, right now. All those years of being terrible after Super Mario's revival led to a stockpiling of excellent draft picks. The Malkin/Crosby combo sees the ice as crisply as any duo in the league. It's no wonder that Malkin just tied a record for goal-scoring streak to start a career (he's six for six, people). I mean, if Gretzky, Lemiuex, Messier, Hull, Yzerman was last generation's NHL scoring vanguard, this generation's list must have Malkin and Crosby at the top along with Thornton, Ovechkin, Kovalchuk, and Iginla. There's not a luckier franchise in all of sports, right now, than the Pittsburgh Penguins who were this close to expiring. Add Marc-Andre Fleury into the mix as the stud goaltender and former #1 overall pick who is finally coming into his own and it's no wonder that the Pens are tearing it up, right now. Six-games on the trot, as we speak. Their achilles, however, remains defense. Nab a couple of bruisers and watch out, the Penguins are back in a big way.

Pity that with the new NHL's scheduling, the Penguins won't be back in Los Angeles for another three years. That's a shame. Staples Center was sold out last night, just as it should've been. The Kings, for their trouble, at least earned a point out of last night's game, though the full points were there for the taking. Dan Cloutier is not the answer in goal.