The result of the game Saturday afternoon begged for comment from Evgeni Malkin. The Penguins had just defeated the New York Rangers, 1-0, in a tense fight for playoff positioning in the Metropolitan Division. Malkin scored the only goal on the power play midway through the third period. In ordinary times, he would have come to the interview room to discuss the 75th game-winning goal of his Hall of Fame-worthy career and the significance of the win. He did not come after this terrific game.
Sadly, these are not ordinary times.
Russia invaded Ukraine last week, an act of war that has been decried in just about every corner of the free world. Malkin is Russian. He is in an extraordinarily difficult spot.
