Penguins hit with 2 nightmare injuries with playoffs on the line.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have been hit with two enormous injuries and they come at a time when the team is in the middle of a desperate fight for their playoff lives.

On Saturday, in an official announcement, the Penguins confirmed that both captain Sidney Crosby and Penguins star forward Evgeni Malkin would both miss the team's game against the Dallas Stars on Saturday. Crosby is being ruled out due to a lower body injury while Malkin is being ruled out due to an upper body injury, but the important factor here is that neither player will be available for the Penguins.

Making the timing of this news even worse is the prospect of the Dallas Stars seeing the return of Mikko Rantanen to a National Hockey League game for the first time in nearly 2 months.

The Penguins currently boast the second best record in the NHL's Metropolitan Division and are in a playoff spot, however they have several teams currently breathing down their necks including the Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Islanders. Securing important points against the Dallas Stars today just got that much more challenging for the Penguins.

Crosby has 28 goals and 36 assists for 64 points in 61 games for the Penguins this season but the Penguins will lose much more than just his offensive production with the captain out of the lineup.

Malkin also saw a nice bounce back this season with 15 goals and 37 assists for 62 points in 50 games played this season, and you have to hope that this latest injury won't derail his momentum.

Stay tuned for more on this developing story.