Uncustomary poor offensive production ? he is a two-time NHL scoring champion and had scored five goals and 12 points in 11 previous Olympic games ? did not sour Malkin in Sochi. Rather, his frustrations stemmed from factors that evoked memories of his near decade-long distrust of Russian hockey authority:
? Malkin, second among NHL players at 1.23 points per game, did not play regularly on the top power-play unit.
? Malkin believed coaches catered to players who were members of his country's Kontinental Hockey League. He sensed a point was being made at the expense of star Russians ? specifically, he and Washington's Alex Ovechkin ? who have chosen to remain in the NHL.
? Malkin felt the system was geared toward protecting the defense, which consisted mostly of KHL players, instead of playing to what he perceived the squad's strength: skilled forwards.
? Malkin sensed coaches were dismissive of players' feedback. He and Ovechkin, a winger on his line, repeatedly pushed to be split because of their limited experience playing together and their respective preferences to carry the puck. Malkin and Ovechkin felt playing on the same lines made the team an easier matchup for opponents.
Until a few weeks before the Olympics, Malkin thought he was set to play on a line with Toronto's Nikolai Kulemin, a fellow native of Magnitogorsk, Russia. They had played together for their hometown KHL club during the NHL lockout in 2012, with Malkin producing 65 points in 37 games.
(Kulemin produced 38 points in 36 games with Metallurg Magnitogorsk during the lockout. He did not score at the Olympics.)
In late December, Malkin learned he would play on a line with Ovechkin. Neither player favored that decision by Russian coaches, though not because of their on-again/off-again rivalry.
Ovechkin and Malkin, who have combined for three scoring titles and four MVPs since they were the first Russians to go 1-2 in the NHL Entry Draft (2004), privately feared their styles would not mesh fast enough in a short tournament such as the Olympics.
Malkin and Ovechkin also confided to associates' fears that Russia's NHL and KHL Olympians would not always be on the same page. Both players had hoped defenseman Sergei Gonchar, a respected veteran of four previous Olympics with NHL players, would make the squad to help captain Pavel Datsyuk bring players from hockey's two most prominent leagues together.
Gonchar, now playing for Dallas, was not chosen by the Russian Federation ? a decision that equally frustrated and confounded Ovechkin and Malkin.
