Penguins star Evgeni Malkin made his return to PPG Paints Arena on Friday … well, sort of.
In the morning, Malkin took the ice wearing a track suit. He went through some drills and did a little bit of skating on his own. While he may have been skating previously on his own, this was the first time Malkin had been spotted by reporters on the ice at PPG Paints Arena since he sustained a lower-body injury in the second game of the season.
Previously, the Penguins placed Malkin on long-term injured reserve, retroactive to Oct 5. That means he must miss at least 10 games and 24 days.
Coach Mike Sullivan has not — and likely will not — outline a timetable for Malkin’s return. However, to see Malkin on the ice is a positive sign, considering that just last week, Sullivan was fielding questions about if Malkin’s injury could be season-ending.
Malkin is just one of many injured players on the Penguins roster. The Penguins are currently without forwards Nick Bjugstad (lower body), Bryan Rust (hand) and Alex Galchenyuk (lower body), plus defenseman Zach Trotman (sports hernia).
All of those injured players skated in some capacity on Friday morning. Galchenyuk did some individual work. Bjugstad, Rust and Trotman participated in a more structured setting with some of the healthy scratches, although not a full-speed practice.
“The fact that they’re on the ice suggests that they’re at another stage in their rehab process,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “They’re getting closer. That’s encouraging from our standpoint. Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later that we start to get some of these guys back.”
The numerous injuries have opened the door for multiple younger players, including Sam Lafferty, Adam Johnson and Joseph Blandisi. With a mix of older veteran leadership and young hunger, the Penguins entered Friday night’s game against the Dallas Stars riding a four-game winning streak.
McCann back in action
The injury-ravaged Penguins got one of their forwards back on Friday when Jared McCann took the ice.
McCann missed Wednesday’s game with a nagging lower-body injury. However, he was back at practice on Thursday and did not participate in the extremely optional morning skate, an early sign that he would play that evening.
He started the game as the second-line center, with Dominik Kahun on his left wing and Patric Hornqvist on the right.
Murray vs. Fleury unlikely
Penguins fan favorite Marc-Andre Fleury will return to Pittsburgh on Saturday when the Penguins host the Vegas Golden Knights. However, signs say he won’t be matched up against the man who succeeded him.
Matt Murray started in goal on Friday against the Dallas Stars. It would be going against Sullivan’s tendencies for him to play Murray on back-to-back nights. So, at least for now, it looks like Tristan Jarry will make the start in net against Vegas.
Morning skate changes?
If you aren’t aware, there’s this terribly antiquated concept called a morning skate in hockey. Players who are expected to buzz up and down the ice at 10 p.m. have to wake up early and go through a practice the morning of a game.
At least that was the old-school approach. But could the Penguins be changing?
Around the sports world, coaches and player are becoming much more cognizant of the wear and tear their bodies take. More is not always better when it comes to the workload. The Penguins have now canceled three morning skates in the last week. It will be a trend to watch as the season continues.
“We’re just trying to manage their workloads,” Sullivan said. “We’re in the middle of three games in four nights. We just came off a similar circumstance of three games in four nights. We try to communicate with our players on where their needs are at.
“Quite honestly, we’ve really liked the energy we’ve had when the puck drops. It’s just more about trying to make the best decisions so the guys are — from an energy standpoint and a workload standpoint — at their optimal position when the puck drops tonight.”
Mike DeFabo: mdefabo@post-gazette.com or on Twitter @MikeDeFabo.
First Published: October 18, 2019, 4:00 p.m.
