Superstar forward's injury is serious, may miss first round of playoffs.

The Pittsburgh Penguins received some very unfortunate news on the injury front, as it appears they will be without one of their best players for some time to come.

Penguins' general manager Jim Rutherford announced Saturday that star center Evgeni Malkin will miss six-to-eight weeks with an upper-body injury.

Malkin suffered the injury after colliding with with Columbus Blue Jackets' defenseman Dalton Prout during Friday's matchup between the Penguins and Blue Jackets.

He appeared to injure his hand or wrist after the collision, but will reportedly not require surgery to repair the damage.

The current timeline rules Malkin out for at least the opening round of the playoffs, should the Penguins qualify for the postseason. The Pens' currently sit three points ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers for the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot.

The Penguins have not had a good run without Malkin in the lineup, going 5-4-1 during a 10-game stretch in February when Malkin was out due to a lower-body injury.

The Russian has 27 goals and 58 points and is second in Penguins' scoring behind only Sidney Crosby.

[pub]