When Evgeni Malkin was diagnosed with a grade-2 soft tissue h[amstring Injury earlier this month, team doctors projected a 15-20 game absence for Evgeni Malkin that prompted the team to place him on LTIR. About 12 days into the injury, another evaluation prompted fears of even a lengthier absence, some in the organization fearing Malkin would be sidelined until at least early December.

Malkin, though, has put those fears to rest. With what has been described as a pain tolerance injury that could have swayed anywhere from a month to two months,
Malkin has showed significant progress over the last week, even to the surprise of some, that prompted Malkin being cleared as a full participant in today’s practice.

Malkin, barring a setback, is now scheduled to return to the lineup several weeks ahead of when the Penguins imagined he would be able to return. [/hide]