Evgeni Malkin won’t have to wait nearly as long to make his second return to action as he waited for his first this season.
Malkin, who has missed the last two Penguins’ games due to the NHL’s COVID-19 protocols, skated during an optional practice Friday at the team’s UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.
After the practice, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan gave an optimistic outlook for Malkin’s return.
“Right now, he’ll be a game-time decision,” said Sullivan. “But I would anticipate the probability that he would play.”
The Penguins’ center missed the team’s first 34 games this season while recovering from offseason knee surgery. In his 12 games back, he has scored five goals and assisted eight more. Three of his goals have come on the power play.
The Penguins won seven of the 12 games he has played in, but are 12-1 in their last 13 games without the 35-year-old. And now Sullivan is trying to find the right line combinations and wingers to pair with Malkin, as players like Kasperi Kapanen have been inconsistent, and players like Jason Zucker have been injured.
“We’re trying to surround Geno with the right people that give him the best opportunity to be successful,” Sullivan said. “With that, I think it’s important to have complementary guys on both sides.”
O’Connor Quiet on Injury
Penguins forward Drew O’Connor took the podium Friday to speak with the media, but was intent on not discussing the injury that has kept him out of the lineup for nearly a month.
O’Connor uncomfortably dodged questions about a report that he experienced a collapsed lung during Pittsburgh’s January 15 game in San Jose.
The 23-year-old also refused to address questions about another report that he was forced to drive back to Pittsburgh from Las Vegas due to the injury.
O’Connor played in 22 games before getting hurt, scoring three goals and adding two assists.
“I think he’s taken strides in a lot of areas,” Sullivan said of O’Connor, who could return to action in his native New Jersey Sunday. “His pace is better this year. He just has more of a comfort level. He’s stronger, his recognition skills, his awareness skills, have improved.”