Written by Miranda Depkon

With hockey being one of Pittsburgh’s beloved sports, it is terrible when a player is injured. Since March 16, Evgeni Malkin was out indefinitely because of a knee-to-knee hit. 

Malkin was having a great season of hockey when he collided with Boston defenseman Jarred Tinordi. The collision happened late in the first period that became a 2-1 loss to the Boston Bruins. 

Head coach Mike Sullivan had described the injury as “week-to-week.” He said, “When you lose Malkin, it’s a tough loss from our standpoint for everything that he brings to our team.”  

Malkin, along with the previously injured Kasperi Kapanen, thankfully joined the Penguins’ team skate Tuesday morning, April 20. They wore non-contact jerseys and did not join the game against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night, but they did team drills at practice. 

“We have ballpark dates in mind of when we think these guys are going to be available from a full-participation standpoint,” Sullivan said. “Obviously, when they get to this stage of the rehab process, every day we get feedback on these guys and where they’re at. And we try to make the best decisions accordingly.” 

Before Malkin’s injury he had eight goals and 16 assists and put together an eight-point streak from March 2 to March 15.  

Evan Rodrigues and Jarred McCann had been filling in for Malkin while he was out with his injury. Things are looking up for the Penguins, who are three weeks away from the playoffs.