Evgeni Malkin’s jersey color didn’t change, but his status did.
The Penguins center still sported the same, gray sweater he’s been wearing since Monday, an indication he’s not quite ready for full contact, but Malkin did take contact on a limited basis on Wednesday at practice, the first time that’s happened since he sustained a lower-body injury on Jan. 24.
Speaking inside the team’s dressing room at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry, coach Mike Sullivan said Malkin would accompany the Penguins on their two-game road trip: Thursday in Colorado and Saturday at Arizona.
“We’re trying to slowly introduce him into the battles to make sure that we give him the best chance to recover the right way,” Sullivan said. “He’s making progress. That’s encouraging. We’ll take it day-to-day.”
Malkin’s been pushing himself and has been among the last to leave the ice the past three days. Speaking informally on Wednesday, Malkin reiterated his desire to get back into the lineup as quickly as possible.
It’s doubtful the Penguins would have a problem with that. Despite missing the past five games, only four players had more than Malkin’s 54 points entering Wednesday’s games.
Other injury updates
Kris Letang missed practice Wednesday, but Sullivan called it a maintenance day for him.
Carl Hagelin skated on his own before practice with skills coach Ty Hennes. He was not on the team plane that departed Pittsburgh on Wednesday afternoon, though there was hope he could travel to Colorado or Arizona on his own if his concussion improved.
Sullivan said he remained, as of Wednesday, in concussion protocol.
Dad turns into son
This road trip represents the Penguins’ annual “Dads’ Trip,” which comes as a delight to the player affectionately known as “Dad,” 40-year-old Matt Cullen.
“It’s nice not being the oldest in this room,” Cullen said. “I feel like a spring chicken here. This is awesome.”
Cullen called the trip “one of the highlights of the year for everybody.” It’s also a funny role reversal, where the old guys turn into the ones their sons have to worry about.
“There’s a few guys I know that have that conversation,” Cullen said. “ ‘Here’s what you can do, here’s what you can’t do. Turn your cell phone off in a meeting.’ It’s a lot of little stuff.”
Perhaps the most overqualified dad? Easily former Penguin Peter Taglianetti, whose son, Jon, is an equipment manager.
The Sid and Phil show?
Sidney Crosby and Phil Kessel saw a couple shifts together in the third period of the Penguins’ 3-2 shootout loss to the Flames on Tuesday.
The reason is fairly simple: When the Penguins are killing penalties — and certain players aren’t involved as a result — Sullivan tends to group them together to get them back in the flow of the game once the teams are at even-strength.
“Sometimes you’ll see me throw Phil up with Sid on occasion or sometimes I’ll throw Sid between lots of people, for me, it’s more trying to get those guys back into the game, back into the flow,” Sullivan said. “And they’re good players. When they’re on the ice together, I think they’re a threat. The handful of times that we do it through the course of a game gives us potentially an opportunity to score goals. I guess my rationale for it is multi-purposed, but more of it is about keeping them in the flow.”
Cole: ‘It was up there’
Only five players have blocked more shots than Ian Cole this season. Cole, who had a team-high three blocks Tuesday, is used to waking up in the morning sore.
How did Tuesday rank?
“It was up there,” Cole said. “But thankfully they all hit me in pretty good spots. It wasn’t too terrible. Dougie Hamilton doesn’t exactly have a Shea Weber-type shot, which is good.”
If that sounds like a brutal way to make a living, it’s probably because it is.
“It all kind of flows together at this point,” Cole said. “It’s just bruises on top of bruises.”
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: February 8, 2017, 8:55 p.m.