The Pittsburgh Penguins announced that forward Evgeni Malkin is sidelined for three to four weeks after undergoing successful left elbow surgery. Pittsburgh made the injury announcement on Monday.
Evgeni Malkin underwent successful left elbow surgery.
The surgery was performed at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital by team physician, Dr. Dharmesh Vyas, and Dr. John Fowler of UPMC Shoulder and Elbow Orthopedic Surgery.
The expected recovery time for Malkin is 3-4 weeks. pic.twitter.com/TvPRvfCRdC
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) August 17, 2020
Evgeni Malkin Undergoes Surgery
Sources told Mike DeFabo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the injury didn’t happen during the qualifying round series loss to the Montreal Canadiens. The injury is a lingering one that bothered him previously.
Malkin scored 25 goals and 49 assists for 74 points in 55 games in the 2019-20 season. He also added 58 penalty minutes. His possession numbers were 54.4 percent Corsi and a relative Corsi of 4.6.
Over his 14-year NHL career, Malkin has only played for the Penguins. He has 416 goals and 660 assists for 1,076 career points in 907 career games. Pittsburgh originally drafted the Russian centre in the first round, second overall of the 2004 NHL Draft.
Malkin also added one assist in four games versus the Canadiens in the qualifying round. Penguins coach Mike Sullivan and general manager Jim Rutherford praised the veteran’s focus during training camp. However, he didn’t bring the usual production he has against the Habs.
What This Means for the Future
Malkin just turned 34 during the qualifying series and believes he can still play like a key contributor. He picked up the slack this regular season when injuries took out Sidney Crosby and others. The former Calder and Hart Trophy winner averaged 1.35 points per game as Pittsburgh was fifth in the Eastern Conference.
His play helped anchor Bryan Rust to a career-year of 27 goals in 55 games. Pittsburgh went 18-6-4 when Crosby was out of the lineup and helped them challenge for the Metropolitan Division title,
However, the Penguins may have to make some changes after their shocking exit. Rutherford assured the media that Malkin and veteran defenceman Kris Letang would not be moved this off-season. However, expect Pittsburgh to have a different lineup for the start of the 2020-21 season.
