The hype machine burst into overdrive the minute the second-round matchups were announced. Sidney Crosby versus Alexander

Ovechkin? Are you kidding? It doesn't get any better.

Almost as quickly, the backlash started. Forget Crosby, some insisted, what about Evgeni

Malkin? He's the Pittsburgh Penguins' real star. Why is the NHL's top point-producer being

left out?

The answer is bleeding through. Crosby and Ovechkin are simply leaving Malkin behind. In

fact, so are a lot of other players in the Washington-Pittsburgh series.

The Penguins and Capitals face off in Game Three of their playoff series tonight (7, Ch. 5,

Versus) in Pittsburgh's Mellon Arena. Washington holds a 2-0 lead and Crosby and Ovechkin were

dynamite in both games.

Malkin? Game One was nothing special. Game Two was way worse. He has to be better or else

...

"I'm not sure we can win [the series]," Penguins defenseman Sergei Gonchar told the

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "It's going to be tough."

While Crosby and Ovechkin were going goal-for-goal on their way to matching hat tricks in

Game Two, Malkin was watching from the ice and penalty box as goals got past the Penguins. He

was minus-2 and took the tripping penalty that led to Ovechkin's game-winning goal.

Those transgressions would be hard to overlook even if Malkin was contributing on the score

sheet. He's not. He hasn't scored in five games.

It's resurrecting memories of last spring's postseason, when he started strong but had just

two goals and five points in the final 10 playoff games as the Penguins lost to Detroit in the

Stanley Cup finals. The pressure got to him a bit last year, as he told the Tribune-Review he

didn't like how the coaches were using him on the power play. The 22-year-old says he feels no

pressure now, although he would like to find the net.

"I'm not scoring, we lost — and we need scoring," Malkin said. "I'll play my game.

There's not pressure. I feel good. But I need to be better a little bit."

Malkin has a three-game point streak (four assists), but hasn't had a goal since putting up

four in the first three games against Philadelphia. He led the NHL in points (113) and assists

(78) while throwing in 35 goals. He's one of three MVP finalists, joining Ovechkin and

Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk; his famous teammate is left out.

Malkin's just not playing like an MVP now. It's even more obvious because Crosby and

Ovechkin are.

Crosby has four of the Penguins' five goals this series and has scored six of the team's

last 10 going to the first-round matchup with Philadelphia. He leads the league with eight

goals in the postseason.

"A guy can't do more than he's doing," Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik said. "When he's

playing like that, the other guys usually follow his lead. We need more playing like him."

Unfortunately for the Penguins the superstar on the other bench is playing just as well.

Ovechkin has four of Washington's seven goals this series. He is second to Crosby with seven

goals in the playoffs, including the trio that forced hat after hat to rain upon the Verizon

Center ice Monday.

"It was a pretty cool game for me," Ovechkin said Tuesday. "It was an important moment. I'm

glad I score goals."

Malkin would love to know the feeling. His coach, Dan Bylsma, hopes getting back to the

Igloo will heat up his team.

"We have a chance to do it going home," Bylsma said. "Our group has responded at tough

times this year. I'm confident we'll respond in Game Three."