Pittsburgh Penguins have placed forward Evgeni Malkin on the injured reserve list. Malkin got injured last week possibly in a win against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Malkin was due to miss two games with an upper-body injury. As it stands now, the Russian forward has missed four games in a row and is expected to miss some more with the Penguins placing him on the injured reserve.
NHL → IR
Evgeni Malkin (C) | Pittsburgh Penguins#LetsGoPenshttps://t.co/zDSzJutFwB— CapFriendly Transactions (@CF_Transactions) 8. februára 2019
Pittsburgh´s Evgeni Malkin Placed on Injured Reserve
Russian center has played all 50 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins before suffering an upper-body injury last week. Head Coach Mike Sullivan announced last Friday, that Malkin will miss two games for the Penguins. Malkin did not play in those meetings with the Ottawa Senators or the Toronto Maple Leafs. However, Malkin wasn’t part of the games against the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers this week as well.
It is not believed that Malkin will be ready to play on Saturday night when the Penguins visit the Tampa Bay Lightning. In his 50 games played this season, Malkin has collected 55 points. Last season a 32-years-old center recorded 98 points in 78 games. The injury, not believed to be serious, seems to be serious with his placement on the injured reserve.
What This Means For the Future
With Evgeni Malkin sidelined, the Penguins are going with veteran center Matt Cullen as their second line center. Cullen has collected five goals and 14 points so far this season in 43 games. Newly-acquired Jared McCann centred the third line for the Penguins. In his first games against his former team, McCann scored versus Roberto Luongo. However, the Florida Panthers defeated Pittsburgh in overtime.
The Penguins have dropped three straight games and it is not a coincidence that they have been missing the services of Evgeni Malkin. As stated above, the Penguins now shift their focus to face the Lightning on Saturday night. Malkin got injured in their most recent head-to-head meeting in Pittsburgh. In addition to that, the Penguins are without their number one goaltender Matt Murray. Netminder Tristan Jarry was serving as a backup on Thursday night in Florida.
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