Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin says his struggling team needs to start playing harder if it wants to return to the playoffs

Trade chatter has surrounded Penguins' Rickard Rakell and Marcus Pettersson all season, and NHL writer Josh Yohe has provided an update regarding that.

In the first period of Tuesday’s 4-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken, a frustrated Evgeni Malkin slammed his stick into the offensive zone glass after failing to bury a rebound past Joey Daccord. Malkin, who returned to action for the Pittsburgh Penguins following a four-game absence due to injury,

Recommended Videos Malkin is well aware his historic partnership ... “It’s really frustrating,” defenseman Marcus Pettersson said. "We’re giving away points. We have nobody to blame ...

PITTSBURGH — Sitting in a quiet dressing room on Tuesday night after another blown lead turned into another crippling loss in a season increasingly filled with them, Evgeni Malkin spoke quietly.

The teams battle on the in second, the Pens have the puck a lot but the Caps keep them almost entirely to fighting for space around the outside. Rickard Rakell heads to the penalty box and Pittsburgh kills it off before surrendering a goal soon after.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are continuing to battle for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, but likely will be sellers at the deadline.

The Penguins (44 points) are 18-20-8, ranking sixth in the Metropolitan Division and seventh in the Eastern Conference wild-card race. They trail the Columbus Blue Jackets, owners of the second wild-card berth, by four points in the standings.

Sitting in a quiet dressing room on Tuesday night after another blown lead turned into another crippling loss in a season increasingly filled with them, Evgeni Malkin spoke quietly. The Pittsburgh Penguins star has long served as the franchise’s emotional core,

About 20 minutes earlier, though, general manager Kyle Dubas held a press conference, signing Henry Bennewies and Connor Lafave, two young fans, to one-day contracts as part of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Pittsburgh has now lost eight of its 10 games since the holiday break and has fallen to seventh in the wild card race

Penguins brass is pleased with how the crop of forwards is developing in Wilkes-Barre. If the Penguins stay within range of a playoff spot, don’t be surprised to see at least one, and possibly more, of these players promoted to Pittsburgh. The Big Three would surely welcome it.