Pittsburgh Penguins Olympics Report Card: Grading The Performances In Sochi

Evgeni Malkin’s scoring went dry for Russia after an explosive Olympic opener. (Credit: USA Today Sports)

Chris Kunitz: B-

Much like Crosby’s grade, Kunitz’ evaluation was bumped up by an excellent performance in the last game. A bullet wrister off the crossbar and in doesn’t make up for iron hands earlier in the tournament, but it does make a difference when your country’s only acceptable outcome is gold.

Kunitz seemed tentative early in the Olympics, justifying Canadian coach Mike Babcock’s decision to demote the hard-charging winger to a bottom-six role for a spell. However, Kunitz returned to Crosby’s wing for the elimination games and looked more like the effective complementary player we know in Pittsburgh.

Kunitz may still be remembered as a personnel misstep by most Canadian commentators, but Penguins fans know he can play. Fortunately for him, he showed that in the latter stages of the Olympics.

Evgeni Malkin: D+

After erupting for a goal and two assists in Russia’s opener against Slovenia, Malkin mirrored linemate Alex Ovechkin‘s “production” over the home team’s final four games: zero points and countless questions.

We knew entering the Olympics that the stars would have to churn out the points for top-heavy Russia to contend for a medal. Some, like Pavel Datsyuk (2g, 4a), Alexander Radulov (3g, 3a) and Ilya Kovalchuk (3g) delivered inspired tournaments, but Malkin, Ovechkin and Alexander Semin did not.

Malkin doesn’t deserve all of the blame for his lackluster stat line, as coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov had him deployed on the second power play unit and ordered the whole team to play a passive style that wasn’t conducive to Malkin’s brand of up-tempo hockey. However, Malkin has to take some responsibility for what the Russian press dubbed the country’s greatest sporting disappointment.