Malkin missing in the 3rd after an awkward hit in the 2nd.

Malkin leaves the game after an awkward hit.

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HockeyFeed
Published 4 years ago
Malkin missing in the 3rd after an awkward hit in the 2nd.
Brent Clark/CSM/Zuma

The Pittsburgh Penguins have lost one of their top stars, at least for now. 

On Saturday night the Pittsburgh Penguins were facing off against the Columbus Blue Jackets and unfortunately for the Blue Jackets it was an absolute blow out on the part of the aforementioned Penguins. The Penguins cruised to a win with a massive margin of victory, the final score was 7 - 2, but the game was not without its problems for the boys in black and yellow.

During the second period of the contest Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin was the victim of a rather awkward looking hit along the boards, a hit that came when Malkin was already down on one knee. The hit came courtesy of Columbus Blue Jackets forward Vladislav Gavrikov, and although Penguins fans were not thrilled at the fact that Malkin was checked while he was already down on the ice, I do have to defend Gavrikov a little here. Malkin was clearly playing the puck in spite of his prone position and with the puck underneath his actual body it would have been rather difficult for Gavrikov to make a play on that puck, so instead I believe this is why he opted to go for the body check.

There did not appear to be a ton of force behind the blow either, as you will see in the short clip provided below, however it was enough of a hit that it immediately resulted in Malkin leaving the ice and heading down the tunnel to the Pittsburgh Penguins locker room. Malkin would not return at any point during the second period but it was the fact that he was absent from the bench in the third that truly had fans worrying about his  status moving forward. 


It is unclear how exactly Malkin got injured on the play here, he did not appear to be favoring one particular part of his body as he walked off, but it does look like he grabs at his waist or hip area after the initial contact for a brief moment. That is of course only speculation at this time and we will have to wait for an official update before we know exactly what happened. 

Update: Mike Sullivan just provided an update that is really not much of an update.

"They’re both being evaluated right now. We’ll have more information tomorrow."


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