Penguins/NHL
Post-Practice Update
Evgeni Malkin is expected to miss his second straight game tomorrow night against the Carolina Hurricanes but mostly due to a sinus infection he is dealing with.
“He’s not feeling well with the sinus infection….He’s going to have to feel better before he can return to the ice, ” head coach Dan Bylsma said this afternoon.
Bylsma also indicated that Malkin’s dealing with a banged up knee. However, what’s been relayed to me from anyone of importance is that
Malkin has no structure damage to his knee and it’s an injury that just continues to reaggravate at times, hence, a bad bruise that causes discomfort.
It’s one of those nagging injuries that he might have to deal with and play through the rest of the season until he gets longer rest in the off-season.
Good news though is the injury is not considered serious by any means and as stated above, something he’s probably just going to have to play through.
It remains to be seen if the Penguins will keep Malkin out of the lineup for Tuesday’s game on the 25th against the New York Islanders. This is a good opportunity to rest him, even if his sinus infection subdues by then.
From evaluators I’ve spoken with who follow the team closely, they don’t believe Malkin’s knee injury has hindered his skating one bit but it could be affecting the velocity of his shot which has surprisingly become a weakness in his game.
