1.32 – Points-per-game for Evgeni Malkin (regular season and playoffs) when Sidney Crosby has been out of the lineup, well above his 1.14 points per game with Crosby on the ice. Malkin has racked up 66 goals and 90 assists in the 118 games he’s played overall without Crosby (and gone a measly 314-506-820 in the 720 games with his captain).
Against the Caps, that number gets a little scarier, ticking up to an even two points per game… albeit with massive small sample size caveats, as he’s only faced the Caps five times in his career when Crosby has not, and put up four goals and 10 points in those games (compared to 21-46-67, 1.29 pts/gm in the 52 other meetings).
Malkin is always dangerous – but with the spotlight solely on him now, the Caps will need to focus even more on shutting him down the rest of the series.