Per Jonathan Bombulie in Wilkes Barre-Scranton - Chris Conner and Mark Letestu get the call... both were amongst the final training camp cuts. I personally thought of Bayda and Jeffrey based on their NHL experience...

* * * * *

Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?

Evgeni Malkin, the iron man who has played in 254 consecutive games through last night's 6-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens, is supposed to be the team's saving grace as others on the team convalesce. It has been his yearly duty since coming into the league to put this team on his shoulders while teammates such as Sidney Crosby, Sergei Gonchar, Max Talbot and Marc Andre Fleury have all missed significant stretches of time.

Unfortunately, those same shoulders...well, one of them anyway, is now going to force Malkin to miss upwards of three weeks while he recovers from a strain that was sustained about 10 days ago.

"Geno is going to be out of the lineup for a couple of weeks," head coac Dan Bylsma said. "He strained his shoulder about 10 days or so ago. I don’t know the exact day. It is precautionary for the player. We are worried about the safety of the shoulder. A couple weeks of rest and rehab will get that thing healthy so he can get back onto the ice."

Malkin, who is not one to miss games, probably could play through the injury. However, there would not be a very smart thing to do at this point of the season.

"Obviously he has played with it and could gut it out, which is what Geno would be apt to do," Bylsma said. "At this time of the year the concern is the player and this is a precautionary measure."

This would be a crippling injury for a lot of teams, however, the Penguins aren't like a lot of teams. They are loaded at the center position with Sidney Crosby and Jordan Staal leading the way.

Crosby will retain his spot centering the first line with Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz, while Staal could slide up to the second line. The team also has Craig Adams who has already centered the third line at times this season while Staal was skating with Malkin. Mike Rupp is also available to slot into the fourth line center role.

Word on the street is that the team will be making a handful of call-ups to offset the loss of Malkin. I know many are clamoring for players like Luca Caputi and Eric Tangradi to get that call, but Dustin Jeffrey is a more likely candidate to be recalled...as is Ryan Bayda. Once the current players settle into their new roles, you will have a couple of holes on the third and fourth lines which players like Jeffrey and Bayda are better equipped to handle.

If I had to put a line-up card together at this point, it would look something like this:

Kunitz-Crosby-Guerin
Fedotenko-Staal-Kennedy
Cooke-Adams-Dupuis/Bourque
Jeffrey-Rupp-Godard

Max Talbot is also within a month of returning, which will only enhance the team's depth. Ray Shero may have made some moves that raised plenty of questions in fan's minds, but I think that the picture he saw all along is quickly coming into focus. Depth is a huge key to winning in the NHL and Shero has done a great job of having affordable help in his cupboard...

The bottom line is that this injury will probably hurt fantasy teams a lot more than it will the Penguins. Sure this is a blow to one of the best teams in the league, but with Sidney Crosby's new found goal scoring touch and goals from 13 different players on the season, I think that this group can maintain the status quo long enough for Malkin to make a triumphant return.

From Earlier...

Malkin to Miss 2 to 3 Weeks With Shoulder Injury...

Big news out of the Penguins morning skate today, as it was announced that Evgeni Malkin would miss up to three weeks with a shoulder injury.

Dan Bylsma made the startling announcement following the skate. According to the Penguins official site, this is not related to the shoulder separation that Malkin sustained during training camp of his rookie season.

It will be interesting to see exactly how this injury came about, as it apparently occurred during last night's game. Malkin played the entire game without issue.

My guess is that the Penguins will make a couple of call-ups to supplement the roster for the west coast road trip.

More on this shortly...

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