Pittsburgh Penguins: Is Evgeni Malkin the Front-Runner for Hart Trophy?

Take a look at the Penguins lineup from their last game against Buffalo, and chances are, the average hockey fan won't recognize quite a few of the names.

Guys like Eric Tangradi, Carl Sneep, Joe Vitale, Alexandre Picard, and Simon Despres are filling in for the Pens because they are so injury depleted. 

Currently for the Penguins, Sidney Crosby, Paul Martin, Zbynek Michalek, Kris Letang, and Jordan Staal are out of the lineup. That's $25.2 million worth of salary that's missing from the Penguins roster right now. 

Even Evgeni Malkin has missed seven games this season, but in the 26 he's played in he's scored 15 goals and 21 assists. He netted his seventh career hat trick on Saturday night against Buffalo and had a five point performance which now puts him at 36 points, tied for fourth in the league. 

He's also played fewer games than Claude Giroux, Phil Kessel, Steven Stamkos, Henrik Sedin, and Joffrey Lupul. So essentially, Malkin has done more in fewer games than most of these guys. 

After his amazing five-point performance on Saturday night, it became clear that Malkin may be the front-runner for the Hart Trophy after a third of the season. 

In Crosby's absence, Malkin has elevated his game to 2009 status where he won the Conn Smythe Trophy and led the Pens to their third Stanley Cup. Malkin has risen to the occasion when the Penguins need him most. 

Despite all of their injuries, the Penguins are sitting just three points behind the top of the Eastern Conference and Malkin, without his sidekick Crosby, is only three points behind Giroux and Kessel for the league lead in points.

More importantly, Malkin has elevated the game of James Neal. Neal has scored 18 goals this season and eight of them have been assisted by Malkin. This exemplifies the impact Malkin has had on Neal's game. 

Neal came to the Penguins last year from Dallas and in 20 regular season games he only tallied one goal and six points. Malkin and Crosby were both out of the lineup.

This year with Malkin along his side, Neal is among the league leaders in goals and the leader in power-play goals with 10. 

Malkin has helped him gain confidence in his game and as a result, Neal is feeding the puck to Malkin and helping him find the back of the net as well.

Malkin's play has helped the Pens believe in themselves that they can win long term if Crosby continues to stay out of the lineup. Last season they fell to the Lightning in seven games in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, but perhaps with Malkin in the lineup they could've gone deeper in the playoffs. 

Other candidates for the Hart Trophy at this point are Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos, Ottawa's Jason Spezza, Boston's Tim Thomas, Philadelphia's Claude Giroux, Vancouver's Henrik Sedin, and Toronto's Phil Kessel.

Stamkos' and Spezza's respective teams are too low in the standings so they can't really receive MVP consideration. Giroux is out indefinitely with a concussion. Henrik Sedin gets plenty of assistance from teammates Daniel Sedin and Ryan Kesler, so the Canucks can still win without him.

Same story with Kessel. Toronto has Joffrey Lupul who is also in the top five in scoring so who's to say that Toronto can't win without Kessel. Also, they were once at the top of the conference and now they find themselves in eighth place in the East. The team may not have enough firepower to even make the playoffs.

Tim Thomas might be the only guy who may deserve it more than Malkin at this point. However, the last goalie to win a Hart Trophy was Jose Theodore back in 2001-02. Thomas also plays for a Stanley Cup team with a stifling defense, great chemistry, and solid scorers. They could win without him, too.

Without Malkin's play, the Penguins wouldn't find themselves so high in the standings. Who knows if James Neal would've found his scoring touch without Geno? The Pens are depleted defensively and have allowed 10 more goals this season after 33 games than last year. 

Finally, Malkin probably has the most talent from all of the aforementioned players to keep it up throughout the season. He's a proven player with a great track record. It definitely wouldn't be a surprise and keeps this torrid pace to not only win a Hart Trophy, but lead the Pens to their fourth Cup.