Recchi compares Malkin to Lemieux

By Karen Price
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, September 16, 2006

Evgeni Malkin's first true jaw-dropping play of his Penguins career came midway through the second half of the team's first training camp scrimmage Friday.

The 20-year-old Russian center, playing on a line with Ryan Malone and Mark Recchi, banked the puck off the back of goaltender Dany Sabourin to score. Afterward, Recchi said what people watching in the stands had been thinking.

"It was a very smart play," Recchi said. "He saw something, and he took it. ... He's as close to Mario in terms of size and what he can do with the puck as we've seen in a while."

It was a big statement, but Malkin, 6-foot-3 and 192 pounds, also made a big impression in his first day practicing and scrimmaging with the Penguins' full complement of players.

Coach Michel Therrien, who said yesterday that he plans to keep lines together as much as possible to build chemistry going into the regular season, praised the Malone-Malkin-Recchi line.

"(Malkin) looked really good," Therrien said. "That line seemed to click. I was really impressed with Malkin the way he played with Malone and Recchi. I thought they played really well together. That's the purpose of our training camp is we're trying to establish our lines quickly so when we start the season we've got a pretty good idea how things are clicking with teammates on lines and defense."

Therrien also had good things to say about his other top forward line made up of center Sidney Crosby between Colby Armstrong, his linemate at the end of last season, and newcomer Nils Ekman, who scored 21 goals with the San Jose Sharks last season.

"Very good," Therrien said of Ekman taking the left side with Crosby and Armstrong. "I liked the way that he skated, and I liked the way that he saw the ice. He's got the speed to play with Crosby."

Yesterday was a first look at the formidable punch the Penguins finally now pack down the middle with Crosby and Malkin both on the roster.

"(Malkin) passes well, shoots well, skates great. ... We've got a great 1-2 punch right now," Recchi said. "They're going to complement each other tremendously, and it's going to be fun to be part of it."

Crosby also had great things to say about the team's newest budding star, who also scored on a penalty shot and made another impressive move to circle away from a defender in the offensive zone yesterday.

"It was just as I expected," Crosby said. "Smart player, fast, and he showed his skill out there. I had skated with him a little bit before and I saw him play. He hasn't changed his game, which is good. The ice surface has changed, and it's a little different hockey, I think, and he's maintained the same game. I think that's a huge reason why he's doing well out there."

Karen Price can be reached at kprice@tribweb.com.