"I like to be on the point," Malkin says through a translator . "I have lots of chances to score from that position."

Actually, Malkin can score from almost any position, with the possible exception of fetal. Piling up 106 points speaks to some pretty serious offensive ability, although Malkin says that hitting triple digits wasn't on his to-do list last autumn.

"I didn't even think about it," he says.

Others did, though, once they realized how well he had adapted to the smaller ice surfaces and more physical play in North America. Malkin not only can set up teammates and convert the scoring chances they give him but is able to get past reliable defenders who stand between him and the net.

"He's a really good one-on-one player," Canadiens coach Guy Carbonneau says. "He likes to stickhandle through people."

And, if need be, bull through them. Though Malkin's size (6-foot-3, 195) isn't imposing, he routinely absorbs checks without breaking stride, losing neither his balance nor the puck.

"Guys go to hit him, and they bounce off," Whitney says. "He looks so skinny off the ice, but he's so strong. You can't knock him off the puck. You see guys give him hard body checks, and he always holds on to the puck."

The NHL's physical play, along with its 82-game regular-season marathon, wore down Malkin during his rookie season, and he was a nonfactor during Pittsburgh's five-game loss to Ottawa in the opening round of the playoffs.

"It was his first year, and he'd never played that many games, so that had something to do with it," Gonchar says.

Malkin's production tailed off in the waning days of 2007-08, too — he was held scoreless in four of Pittsburgh's final seven games  but there's no compelling evidence that fatigue was a factor. Indeed, the Penguins are confident he won't be running on fumes during the postseason.

"The way he played this year, I think he's going to be a huge factor in the playoffs," Talbot says.

One who isn't likely to go unnoticed.

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