Sergei Gonchar: Malkin became more confident

Gonchar: Malkin has his own house, his family is with him,
so I guess the comfort level is higher.

Sergei Gonchar talks about Evgeni Malkin. "I wouldn't say he's a different guy," Gonchar said, "But his confidence level is higher this year. He's been around the guys for three years now. His English is better. He has his own house, his family is with him, so I guess the comfort level is higher."

It's been three or four months, Sergei Gonchar estimates, since Evgeni Malkin ventured out on his own.

Still, not much has changed at the Gonchar residence.

"He moved out and my wife delivered another baby," Gonchar said. "So one baby is out and another is in.

"It's the same."

Maybe at Gonchar's place.

But we're seeing a potentially different Malkin in the NHL playoffs thanks to a maturation and transformation that drips with possibilities regarding what Malkin might accomplish in his third NHL postseason.

"I wouldn't say he's a different guy," Gonchar said, "But his confidence level is higher this year. He's been around the guys for three years now. His English is better. He has his own house, his family is with him, so I guess the comfort level is higher.

"That's what you can see in him."

Malkin still has some work to do regarding his mastering of English. But with two goals and five points in two games against the Flyers, victories that have the Penguins leading their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series two games to none heading into Game 3 this afternoon in Philadelphia, Malkin is off to a flying start this postseason.

Neither goal has been a work of art, but Malkin's credentials as a highlight-reel finisher are well established.

When those start happening, watch out.

Malkin got off to a rocket start last year and ultimately finished fifth in the NHL in playoff scoring (10 goals, 12 assists -- 22 points) while leading the Penguins in postseason game-winning goals (three). So, it's not as if his first extended run at the Stanley Cup was a disappointment.

But there were stretches in the latter stages of the Penguins' cruise into June where Malkin all but disappeared.

He went without a goal in three consecutive games in the Eastern Conference final against Philadelphia. And he was held without a point in the Penguins' first four games with the Cup at stake against the Red Wings and without a goal in their first five (the Pens were shut out in Games 1 and 2).

"I felt like, for him, it was more physical," Gonchar said. "He's still a young guy, and physically, it was tough for him to play for such a long time when he never had such an experience. And he was sick in one series and it took him some time to recover after that.

"You put those things together, and it's kind of expected, I would say."

Expectations have been raised this year for Malkin, who since last season has become an alternate captain and an NHL scoring champion.

At 22, he appears poised to fulfill them against Philadelphia and beyond.

Perhaps more significantly, Gonchar sees Malkin as more aware of what it would mean to fulfill those expectations while helping to deliver a championship for the Penguins.

"He wants to be the one," Gonchar said. "He wants to win a Cup.

"Now, he understands how important it is for the team. Growing up in Russia, you just heard about the Stanley Cup, but you didn't know how tough it is to get one.

After he's gone through the playoffs, he recognizes how tough it is and how important it is to get one, so he's really into it."