ANAHEIM, Calif. — Pittsburgh centre Evgeni Malkin could make his season debut on Tuesday night when the Penguins face the Anaheim Ducks.
Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan on Evgeni Malkin, who has yet to play this season after undergoing knee surgery in June:
"I would anticipate at this point that Geno will be a game-time decision."
Pittsburgh plays Anaheim tomorrow night.
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) January 10, 2022
Coach Mike Sullivan said Monday that he anticipates the four-time All-Star and 2012 Hart Trophy winner will be a “game-time” decision as Pittsburgh continues its West Coast swing.
The 35-year-old Malkin hasn’t played since undergoing right knee surgery in June. Malkin has been skating with his teammates for several weeks and was cleared to start taking contact recently. He was a full participant in practice on Monday and worked with the top power-play unit and centred the second line between Jeff Carter and Kasperi Kapanen.
“We try to check all the boxes as far as the preparation process,” Sullivan said. “He’s worked extremely hard to get to this point.”
Malkin had surgery in June, with the team saying he would miss “at least” the first two months of the season. Sullivan stressed Malkin is still in the middle of the team’s recovery time frame even with the season now three months old.
[snippet id=5216510]
The Penguins have thrived even with Malkin out. Pittsburgh currently sits in fourth in the highly competitive Metropolitan Division and had a 10-game winning streak snapped over the weekend in Dallas.
Malkin’s presence, however, could give the NHL’s 22nd-ranked power-play a boost.
“I just think he adds a whole other dimension to it,” Sullivan said. “His play-making ability, his one-timer. He’s just such an elite offensive player, just the way he thinks the game and his ability to execute, I think it brings another dimension to our power play that makes us that much harder to defend against.”
Malkin is in the final season of an eight-year, $76-million contract and is coming off an injury-marred season in which he managed a career-low 28 points in 33 games.
[relatedlinks]
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.