Essentially hours after the NHL officially locked out its players, Evgeni Malkin announced he would be playing for Mettalurg of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), just four games into their season.
Fans had mixed reviews of seeing the favorite players head overseas; it darkened the hope of a resolution coming quickly, but also gave them some hockey games to which they could relate.
How’s our MVP being fairing overseas?
After going scoreless in his first two KHL games, Malkin was already drawing criticism. He stood firm, saying, “My KHL goals will come,” (qtd in Rianovosti). He hadn’t even been in the country for a week, but when your reputation precedes you, people expect a lot.
The KHL is shorter schedule, with only 52 games played in the regular season compared to 82 for the NHL. To achieve his 50-goal accomplishment of last year, Malkin would have to score at least once in all but two games. Altering the numbers to reflect the shorter season, he would have to score roughly 32 goals to be on the same pace in the KHL.
As of Wednesday, November 7, Malkin has eight goals, 20 assists and 28 points in 18 games. Malkin has clearly been a contributing factor to Mettalurg’s third place ranking in the Eastern conference, but he’s behind the pace for a season as notable as last year’s.
Perhaps that’s a good thing. We want to make sure he comes back to the NHL once an agreement is reached, whether that’s yet this season or next year.
One thing is for certain, he can still weave in and out of defenders and score like it’s nothing! Check out this video of a goal Malkin scored in October:
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