Evgeni Malkin was one of the last players on the ice Sunday.
The Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday were scheduled to jet off to New York for a huge Metropolitan Division showdown Monday with the Islanders, and while it wasn’t clear what their lineup will look like, there were some encouraging developments.
A couple of hold-your-breath questions, too.
After practicing in a full capacity with the team at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin appear close to returning from injury and, according to coach Dan Muse, were expected to travel with the team to New York.
Meanwhile, top-line winger Bryan Rust and fourth-line and penalty-killing spark plug Noel Acciari did not practice. Muse labeled their absences as maintenance days and said they also will travel to New York.
The best-case scenario would have all four playing against the Islanders, who are in second place in the Metro, one point ahead of the Penguins, who have a game in hand. With nine games left, it’s the latest and one of the biggest in a stretch of pressure-packed dates as the Penguins look to break their streak of three straight seasons out of the playoffs.
Malkin, who has missed three games because of a suspected hand injury, and Crosby, who has missed one game because of a lower-body injury, were cleared for full contact. Malkin, in fact, remained on the ice well after most of his teammates had exited.
Muse anticipated having further conversations about all four players with the training staff after Malkin came off the ice, which was after the coach spoke with reporters.
“Great having them out there,” Muse said of Crosby and Malkin.
Back at you, Crosby said. “Good to be back out there.” He added, though, that his status is still day to day, as with Malkin.
“It’s a big race, a big stretch for us,” Crosby said. “As a player, these are the ones you want to be in. These are big games.”
Crosby declined to say whether this injury is related to the suspected knee injury he sustained during the Olympics that kept him out for the first 11 games after the Olympic break. He has played in five of the Penguins’ 17 games since the break.
“It’s not easy. It’s part of the game,” Crosby said of injuries. “Every year there are different challenges. This year, that happens to be a challenge for me individually, but as a group I think — especially when you’re hurt — the thing that gives you confidence is seeing the way we play on a nightly basis and the fight that we have. It’s a pretty tested group, and it’s a big stretch here, so regardless of who’s in or who’s out, I know that we’re going to leave it all out there and give ourselves the best chance.”
With Crosby and Malkin back but Rust and Acciari missing, this is how the lines stacked up:
Anthony Mantha-Sidney Crosby-Rickard Rakell
Egor Chinakhov-Tommy Novak-Evgeni Malkin
Rutger McGroarty-Ben Kindel-Justin Brazeau
Elmer Soderblom-Connor Dewar-Ville Koivunen
(Kevin Hayes rotated in on the fourth line)
The defense was unchanged:
Parker Wotherspoon-Erik Karlsson
Sam Girard-Kris Letang
Ryan Shea-Connor Clifton
Ryan Graves/Ilya Solovyov-Jack St. Ivany
Categorized:Penguins News
