Crosby, Malkin expected to get more involved in killing penalties

Both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin will be among a handful of Pittsburgh Penguins forwards expected to kill penalties this season, according to assistant coach Gary Agnew.

"We'd like to get them involved," Agnew told Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "You don't want to get them into a situation - and I think it happened last year, a couple of times - where we'd get three penalties in a period, and your top-end guys are just sitting there, waiting. They're not in the game."

Agnew argues their presence on the ice will put pressure on the opposition when handling the puck.

"If I'm a defenseman in this league and I have a bobbled puck and I know Crosby or Malkin or those guys are out there, I’'m panicking or I'm getting a little nervous about it," he said.

As a point of reference, Crosby averaged 22 seconds per game while the Penguins were down a man in 2014-15, while Malkin was down around five seconds of average ice time. For their careers, they have combined for seven shorthanded goals, with Malkin leading the way with four.

There's a measure of risk involved in killing penalties, specifically in regards to shot blocking. The possibility of having either Crosby or Malkin take advantage of a turnover and create scoring chances at the other end of the the ice, however, appears to be something the Penguins want to take advantage of.