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Evgeni Malkin Out Sunday & Possibly Longer |
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Initial reports on Malkin injury not encouraging
From high atop the Consol Energy Center press box Friday night, I initially believed that Paul Martin had suffered an injury after colliding with Tomas Fleischmann and the boards behind the Florida goal.
Boy was I wrong.
Evgeni Malkin was checked “violently,” as described by ROOT announcer Bob Errey, into the boards by Panthers’ defenseman Erik Gudbranson.
Click
here to see the replay.
According to the
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Malkin is suffering from concussion-like symptoms, including severe headaches and mild disorientation.
He is expected to undergo further evaluation Saturday. Coach Dan Bylsma will speak on the topic after practice, but there’s probably not a lot he can do or say at this point.
The Penguin center has been ruled out for Sunday’s home game against Tampa Bay and could miss an extended period of time.
Gudbranson said after the game that he was simply following through on his check.
“I just finished my check,” Gudbranson said. “You never want to see a guy go down. He’s in a vulnerable position. But you can’t pass up a hit.
“It’s unfortunate that he got hurt on the play, but it’s one I’d take every time.”
Bylsma said that Brandon Sutter would move up to center the second line with Malkin out.
The team’s top power play had Kris Letang and Paul Martin at the points, with James Neal, Chris Kunitz and Sidney Crosby playing the forward positions after Malkin left Friday’s contest.
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Treasure Life!
JT
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • 
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