Hockey Night in suburban Chicago

If there were any leftover doubts about Evegni Malkin as just another Russian player making a John Le Carre-like escape from Finland to the West Coast to Pittsburgh in order to play in the NHL, well, do you believe now?

You can bet opposing goaltenders and at least one Hall of Famer do.

"We knew he was a great talent but not to that extent," Penguins icon Mario Lemieux told the Canadian Press.

With each game -- and he's played just six so far -- the 20-year-old Malkin continues to develop from tentative rookie to the league's next superstar.

He opened the scoring for Pittsburgh in its game Wednesday night against Los Angeles, becoming the first NHL player in 89 years with six goals in his first six games. Then showing an uncanny knack for being in the right place at the right time, he buried a rebound past Dan Cloutier 2:45 into overtime for a 4-3 win over the Kings.

"Malkin's contribution has been huge and I feel pretty fortunate to play with him," said Sidney Crosby, who assisted on both goals.

On Wednesday, and in a surprise to no one, Malkin was named the NHL rookie of the month beating out Los Angeles' Anze Kopitar, San Jose's Matt Carle and Colrado's Paul Stastny.

It's a great story for a franchise that needs one. As someone who worked in the Pittsburgh media for a year, the Steelers are definitely the kings of the city, but the Penguins are certainly more beloved there than these guys. Less than a month ago, Lemieux sold the team to Canadian businessman Jim Balsillie for about $175 million.

"Pittsburgh has shown itself to be an outstanding hockey market, and the team has an incredible tradition of success and fan support," Balsillie said in a written statement last month. "With young stars such as Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, we all know the Penguins have a very bright future on the ice. I look forward to owning this team for a long time in Pittsburgh."

Balsillie, whose company Research In Motion created the BlackBerry wireless device, is belived to want to eventually move the team to Hamilton, Ontario if a new arena cannot be built in Steel City.

Here's what I will be curious to see. Years ago, it was Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr co-existing and helping the Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cups in the early 90s, but Jagr wanted to be the man and eventually was dealt to Washington.

Will Crosby -- a 102-point scorer and rookie of the year runner-up last season -- be Lemieux to Malkin's Jagr? Or will Malkin overshadow No. 87?

THE GOOD ...

BIG SAVES: St. Louis Blues goaltender Manny Legace makes 44 saves and improves to 9-1 all-time against the Colorado Avalanche following a 4-1 victory ...

SUPER SUB: Niklas Backstrom of the Minnesota Wild becomes the first rookie goaltender since 1943 to win twice before making his first career start. He stopped 19 shots over the final two periods of a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks ...

MAXIM-UM EFFORT: The Sabres' Maxim Afinogenov scores two of the final three goals in the last 8:39 of regulation. Buffalo has yet to lose in regulation this season after a 5-4 shootout win over the Boston Bruins ...

THE BAD ...

LOOKING FOR A WIN: Brian Boucher fell to 0-7-0 this season after the Chicago Blackhawks dropped a 2-1 decision to the Detroit Red Wings. Boucher has not won since Feb. 10 when he was with the Phoenix Coyotes ...

GOAL DROUGHT: Jonathan Cheechoo, who had a league-high 56 goals last season, has just five so far and none in his last five games after the San Jose Sharks' 3-1 loss to the New York Rangers ...

TEMPER, TEMPER: Peter Forsberg picked up 18 penalty minutes and the Philadelphia Flyers lost their 10th in a row to the Tampa Bay Lightning following a 5-2 defeat ...

AND THE QUOTABLE ...

"They will not only remind Pens and NHL fans of Mario and Jaromir Jagr, but could have them wondering whether watching them play together is what watching Mario and Gretzky playing together would have been like." -- Dallas Mavericks owner and Pittsburgh native Mark Cuban on Penguins stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.