April 7, 2012; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin (71) before the game against the Philadelphia Flyers at the CONSOL Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-US PRESSWIRE

If you have been following our coverage of the World Championships, you have figured out the Evgeni Malkin is having a great Tournament.        So I think it is fair at this point to ask the question.      Evgeni Malkin won the scoring title and is widely considered the best player in the NHL right now.      Would it be fair to say that right now, he is the best player in the world?

Evgeni Malkin finished the season as the scoring champion, he is also in the final three for the Hart Trophy as the Leagues MVP.      He may be the only reason the Penguins were able to play as well as they had throughout the regular season with Crosby on the shelf for most of the year.      And now, he is leading all players in the World championships with 14 points, 7 goals and 7 assists.       He has been nearly unstoppable in the tournament.

He has 14 points in 7 games during the championships.       If we can all do a little simple math, that comes out to Two points a game.     If he is able to continue that pace it would leave him in some rare air.

Realizing that their are some players that have not joined their world teams yet, or have chosen not to play this year.     Those variables should not matter though.        Right now, I think the case can be made that he is the Best Player in the World.     That is coming from someone that has written that his trade value is at it’s highest and should be traded.      And I can say that that  is a conversation for another day.

His 109 points this season in the regular season, consisted of 50 goals and 59 assists.    Very evenly distributed as you can see.   He  is as much a scorer as he is a set up man.     He is a team leader and an assistant captain.       We can do the math, look at the plays, and read all the accolades….the only thing we really need is our eyes.     And he certainly passes the eye test.

If you would like to follow me on Twitter you can @sportsmonger and on Sports  Monger Radio.

Evgeni Malkin, Could He Be The Best Player In The World? - Pens Labyrinth - Pens Labyrinth - A Pittsburgh Penguins Blog

Mar. 29, 2012; Uniondale, NY, USA; New York Islanders left wing Matt Moulson (26) and Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik (44) battle for the puck during the second period at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE

The Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Islanders have had a long and storied rivalry in their NHL existence.  The rivalry began in earnest during the 1975 Stanley Cup playoffs.  It was this series that saw the Penguins leap out to a 3-0 series lead, only be listed as only one of three teams that lost a series after leading 3-0.  The Islanders stormed back to win the series.

Then the Pens and Isles met during the height of the Isles’ dynasty.  The Penguins gave the Islanders fits in 1982, posing the only serious threat to their Cup run during the 1980-83 streak.  The Pens extended the Islanders to Game 5 of the then best-of-5 playoff series before bowing out.  The Islanders were never really challenged the rest of the way, winning their third of four straight Stanley Cups.

Fast forward now to 1993.  The Penguins had skyrocketed to the top of the NHL mountain, two time Stanley Cup winners and winner of the President Trophy as the NHL’s best regular season team.  The Islanders had fallen on hard times, and were returning to the playoffs for the first time in a few seasons, missing in 1991 and 1992.

Both teams dispatched their first round opponents, the Pens defeating the New Jersey Devils 4-1 and the Islanders upending the Washington Capitals 4-2.  It was in this particular series that Dale Hunter recorded his name in NHL infamy after taking a cheap shot at Isles’ star Pierre Turgeon.  Hunter of course, claimed he didn’t know a goal had been scored, a dubious statement since at the time of the hit, the Nassau Coliseum crowd was roaring, the lights were flashing, Turgeon was celebrating, and the Caps goalie was picking the puck out of his net.

On paper, the Penguins and Islanders were a mismatch.  The Penguins had rolled over the league in the 1992-93 season.  They were riding the confidence of back to back championships.  Mario Lemieux had won the scoring race with 160 points in only 60 games.  Tom Barrasso was among the league’s elite goaltenders.  There were some sports analysts that claimed the four rounds of the playoffs were a formality for the Pens.  It seemed as though nothing would stop the mighty Pens.

The Islanders had other ideas.  Although finishing 32 points behind the Pens in the series, the New York team from Long Island relied upon timely goaltending from Glenn Healy and a balanced scoring attack.  However, drawing the Pens was a monumental task, as they were missing their leading scorer in Turgeon, who was out indefinitely with a separated shoulder.

By the time the dust settled, the Islanders had proven to be undaunted by the Penguins.  The teams split the first four games.  In Game 5, the Penguins ran away with the win, scoring three times in the first two minutes en route to a 6-3 win.  They led the series 3-2, and had the chance in Game 6 to finally put away the pesky Isles.

It didn’t happen.

The Penguins lost the game 7-5, but the real story was the play of rookie defender Darius Kasparaitis.  The Lithuanian-born defenseman simply rocked Lemieux at every opportunity, unafraid of Super Mario.  He also filled in Jaromir Jagr, sending the right winger to the ice.  The Islanders got their boost from his energetic play, and pulled even in the series, setting the tone for a Game 7…a game that the Penguins were never supposed to play.

The Penguins put together their best game of the series, outshooting the Islanders 45-20 in the game.  But they never anticipated that Glenn Healy would be equal to the task.  The Penguins came at the Islanders in waves, especially in the first period, when they outshot the New York squad 20-7.

Star winger Kevin Stevens suffered a devastating facial injury and had to be carried off on a stretcher.  Lemieux hit the post on a breakaway.  An ominous feeling was settling over the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

The Penguins scored first on a goal by Ulf Samuelsson.  But Barrasso inexplicably collapsed when the Penguins needed him the most, allowing two questionable goals as the Islanders rattled off three straight.  Islander forward unleashed a shot from the blueline that Barrasso missed, giving New York a 3-1 lead in the third period.  It was a goal that gave the Civic Arena a tomb-like silence.

The Penguins rallied to tie the game in the last minute.  But continuing his cold streak, Barrasso went down too early on a David Volek shot.  The puck sailed over the goalie’s shoulder, ending the Penguins’ championship streak.

Since that day…May 14, 1993…the Penguins and Islanders haven’t had a normal rivalry.  The bad blood seemed to boil over in every season since then, culminating in a very vicious game in February 2011.  Although the games haven’t been quite as intense since then, the strange rivalry can trace its roots to that Patrick Division Finals in the playoffs of 1993.

Penguins And Islanders: Remembering May 14, 1993 - Pens Labyrinth - Pens Labyrinth - A Pittsburgh Penguins Blog

Another game, another goal for Evgeni Malkin at the 2012 IIHF World Championships.  This time it was the bitter rivals from the Czech Republic that were on the receiving end of Malkin’s 7th goal of the championships.  The Czech Republic had beaten Russia six times in the last seven meetings but Russia stamped their authority on the game after 24 seconds when Alexander Perezhogin scored on the first attack of the game.  Perezhogin took a pass from behind the goal and skated round to beat Jakub Kovar in the Czech goal.  The Czechs responded well and persistently attacked but Russia, minus two first choice defenders and Semyon Varlamov in goal, stood firm.  In the 11th minute, the frame of the goal helped save Russia, and Konstantin Barulin, from conceding.  The first period ended with the Czechs outshooting their opponents 14-7.

The second period was played out in a similar manner, with the Czech Republic having more of the shots on goal.  Indiscipline from the Czechs would give Russia a 5 on 3 advantage at the end of the period when Martin Erat and defenseman Lukas Krajicek were called for penalties.  This gave the Russians an advantage that Malkin would exploit fully at the start of the 3rd period when he scored from an Alexander Popov pass.

Everyone on Team Russia can stand up for himself. Besides, it doesn’t affect me at all. A lot of energy is still left so all the skirmishes don’t prevent me and the whole team from showing our best hockey. And if the opponents start giving me too much attention, my line partners, Aleksandr Popov and Aleksandr Perezhogin, score instead of me.

The win for Russia secured the top spot in the group, before the last game, and could face the United States in the semi-finals should both teams advance.  Malkin is now leading the scoring and goal scoring tables as well as plus-minus leader too.  A game against lowly Italy could help accumulate more points for Malkin.  Further good news for Russia is that Washington Capitals duo Alexander Ovechkin and Alexander Semin are joining up with the Russian team.  It is very much looking like the tournament is Russia’s to lose now but the Canadians and the United States will surely have a say in that.

How Do You Solve a Problem like Geno? Malkin scores again in 2-0 win - Pens Labyrinth - Pens Labyrinth - A Pittsburgh Penguins Blog