Over the span of five days, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ active roster saw a considerable decline. In age. When they took the ice for a 7-1 home loss to the Dallas Stars on Nov. 11, they had an average age of a ripe 30.

The Pittsburgh Penguins youth movement is officially underway as 2022 first-round pick Owen Pickering will make his NHL debut Saturday against the San Jose Sharks at PPG Paints Arena.

Malkin turned back the clock to score what should have been the Penguins’ second goal in the first period. He carried the puck through the neutral zone, changed pace, deked through and weaved around a trio of Sharks players, then fired a backhanded shot through the short side of goalie Vitek Vanecek.