PITTSBURGH — Only a few hours after Sidney Crosby was lost to the Penguins for up to two months with an ankle injury, coach Michel Therrien delivered a message to Evgeni Malkin.

Despite the language barrier — Therrien's native language is French, Malkin's is Russian — the intent of the coach's instructions to his other young scoring star was clear.

Malkin, for all his speed, puckhandling skills and shooting ability, should not take on the added burden of attempting to make up for Crosby's missing production by trying to do too much by himself.

Malkin listened intently and understood what his coach was saying. Then he went out and effectively disregarded everything that was said.

"We've lost our best player," Malkin said. "It's not just me, everybody has to keep up (with him) with every game."

So far, only Malkin has done that. Since Crosby sustained a high ankle sprain Jan. 18, Malkin has responded with several of his best games.

Statistics alone don't reflect his impact, but Malkin had four goals and one assist in a victory against Montreal, a shootout loss to Washington and a loss at Philadelphia. He was easily the Penguins' best player on the ice in all three games, not only creating offense but playing with more commitment and concentration on defense.

"When things are more desperate, when he knows he's being depended on a little more, he's got that extra jump," Crosby said. "He just has to play the same way."

Even if no one with the Penguins will say it, that is exactly what they need Malkin to be until Crosby returns, which might not be until fairly late in the season. Pittsburgh heads into the All-Star break with a 27-18-4 record and 58 points, one fewer than Atlantic Division co-leaders New Jersey and Philadelphia but only four points out of last place.

Obviously, what the Penguins do without Crosby may very well determine whether they make the playoffs for the second successive season. The Penguins are 1-3-3 in seven games with Crosby out of the lineup the last three seasons.

However, few teams have a Malkin-like player to plug into its top line at center when a player is injured.