The NHL Department of Player Safety announced that Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin has been suspended for one game. This is his first career suspension.
Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin has been suspended for one game for High-sticking Philadelphia’s Michael Raffl. https://t.co/ECTGHHVwIC
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) February 12, 2019
Evgeni Malkin Suspended
Malkin has been suspended for 1 game for an incident with Philadephia Flyers Michael Raffl. Malkin was originally hit in the head by Raffl and then retaliated by swinging his stick at the head of Raffl. The Pens center was assessed a game misconduct for his actions.
So far this season, he scored 14 goals and 41 assists for 55 points. He also added 53 minutes in penalties. His possession numbers were 50.5 percent Corsi and a relative Corsi of +1.7 percent.
Malkin has spent his entire 13-year career with the Penguins. He has put up 384 goals and 601 assists for 985 career points in 834 career games. He was originally drafted second overall of the 2004 NHL draft by the Penguins.
What This Means for the Future
Monday’s game was Malkin’s first game back after he missed the previous five with an upper-body injury. The Pens picked up only one victory in the five games that Malkin missed and will miss his presence while he’s serving his suspension. An assist in Monday’s game also extends Malkin’s point streak to five games. Nick Bjugstad will move up to the second line while Geno serves his suspension.
As well, Evgeni Malkin was also fined earlier in the year for spearing Washington Capitals T.J. Oshie. The Penguins continue to push on looking for another playoff berth this year. However, they are likely lucky Evgeni Malkin did not make worse contact with Raffl. Malkin will be back in the lineup Saturday against the Calgary Flames. He will sit out against the Edmonton Oilers Thursday.
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