‘Don’t mess with Geno’ was the message Evgeni Malkin was seemingly sounding out loud when the Pittsburgh Penguins went up against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday at Canada Life Centre.
The Penguins, who have curiously started the season in red-hot form, had their eight-game point streak snapped clean as the Jets ran riot in a 5-2 Winnipeg win.
But the end of the streak was far from the only consequential event from the game.
What Did Evgeni Malkin Do?
In a tense encounter at 15:37 of the first period, as Jets star Logan Stanley and Malkin were vying for the puck, Stanley dug his heels in and shoved Malkin in the back twice.
For a split second, it appeared Stanley would get away with a hold behind the Jets’ net. Malkin, of course, was not one to simply let people walk all over him. But don’t take my word for it.
Here’s the video:
That was a healthy slash from Evgeni Malkin on Logan Stanley 😳 pic.twitter.com/a2JfGHdbwX
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) November 1, 2025
Malkin’s two-handed, lumberjack-style slash brought some life into the party, but the referees immediately penalized the Penguins veteran. The NHL Department of Player Safety then took it one step further, slapping Malkin with a $5,000 fine, the maximum allowed, for the incident. The money will go towards the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
Malkin’s fine for the slash on Stanley counts as the second such incident in less than a year. When the Penguins and the Boston Bruins faced off in late November last year, Malkin served up a similar slash at Nikita Zadorov.
In any case, the 5-2 loss to the Jets brought the Penguins right back down to earth.
Before the season began, the popular consensus was that the Penguins would be sellers and bottom dwellers from Day 1, with one eye on the Gavin McKenna sweepstakes. After all, grabbing a generational prospect to follow in Sidney Crosby’s footsteps would be a home run move for general manager Kyle Dubas.
Instead, the Penguins have come racing out the gates. Malkin, in particular, is going toe-to-toe with Father Time. With 18 points so far, the Penguins veteran is tied for fourth in points alongside Macklin Celebrini, Nick Suzuki, and Cale Makar.
He’s also second in assists with 15, one behind Suzuki.
For all intents and purposes, therefore, it appears the Penguins are making one more run at the playoffs in what could very well be Malkin’s last year in the league.
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