The Pittsburgh Penguins started the 2015-16 season with a solid group of centermen: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Nick Bonino, Eric Fehr, and Matt Cullen. That group has two bonafide superstars and then three OK depth options.

Entering this weekend that center depth looks like the following: Sidney Crosby, Matt Cullen, Kevin Porter, and Oskar Sundqvist.

Quite a stark contrast. Pittsburgh is dealing with multiple injuries but the biggest one is obviously #71

Malkin has been productive through this stretch, but I don't believe he's felt right since the Boone Jenner knee against Columbus on Dec. 21

— Josh Yohe (@JoshYohe_PGH) February 4, 2016

Here is the hit



If you recall John Tortorella accused Malkin of embellishing and faking the injury. This is the same John Tortorella who currently cannot join his team on the ice due to a fall he suffered from in practice. Perhaps if his "compete level" was higher he would find his way to the practice ice.

Evgeni Malkin did not make the trip to Florida with the team which means he will miss both the Tampa Bay game tonight and the Florida game tomorrow.

Here is how Pittsburgh does with Malkin on the ice versus when he is off the ice


Evgeni Malkin also leads the team with 23 goals and 49 points.

This puts a lot of pressure on Sidney Crosby to keep producing at the incredible rate that he has been lately. The center depth is pretty bad right now with no Malkin, Fehr, or Bonino.

Eric Fehr may have avoided a worst case scenario. He is not expected to miss the year with a knee injury. Perhaps just one month.

Coach Sullivan confirms that Eric Fehr has a significant lower-body injury. The time frame is expected to be about a month.

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 4, 2016

Oskar Sundqvist will be making his NHL debut but everybody I have reached out to talk to isn't quite sure he is ready for prime time yet. He'll have his chance this weekend to prove otherwise.
Here is some literature about Sundqvist from Russ Hryvnak of DK on Pittsburgh Sports on January 25th:

WILKES-BARRE WATCH by @RussWBS, sponsored by the WBS Team Store: New strides for Seymour https://t.co/uLhvGMp7Jf pic.twitter.com/x3EMrq5kze

— DKPittsburghSports (@DKPghSports) January 25, 2016

Oskar Sundqvist, forward: After missing five games due to an illness, Sundqvist returned to the lineup on Friday against Portland. The 21-year-old has 15 points over his 35 games this season, but has only managed three assists in his last 10. Sundqvist, a first-year AHLer, has been able to string together only one three-game point streak and one two-game point streak all season. To compare, rookie Dominik Simon has had four point streaks of three games or more. Sundqvist has a ways to go to find that consistency.

For those looking for Sergei Plotnikov getting another opportunity these recent injuries may not provide that chance. Plotnikov is a winger and both injuries were to centers.

An interesting note from Josh Yohe about Kris Letang's hand/wrist injury

• Kris Letang is still shaking hands with his left hand. He’s still missing a lot of practices. He’s still playing extraordinary hockey.

The Penguins need Letang to go anywhere this season and he isn’t 100 percent. You wouldn’t know it by his play, though. Still, that hand/wrist injury is very much worth monitoring.

Jaromir Jagr is doing more cool things

With an assist on Petrovic's goal, @68Jagr has recorded his 1,100th Career Assist! #CongratsJagr pic.twitter.com/H7GMnt3wvb

— Florida Panthers PR (@FlaPanthersPR) February 5, 2016

Jaromir Jagr (@FlaPanthers) became the 6th player in NHL history to record 1,100 career assists. pic.twitter.com/ft5poJCL4j

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 5, 2016

Thanks for reading!

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