CRANBERRY, Pa. -- From rinkside, Jim Rutherford smiled as Evgeni Malkin gathered a puck at center ice, skated in and fired a shot on Matt Murray. No, Malkin won't be returning to the lineup within two weeks as the general manager suggested, but three is a distinct possibility. That is something to smile about.
The superstar center took one giant step forward during Saturday's on-ice session at the Lemieux Sports Complex. Other than the red, non-contact sweater, all appeared normal for Malkin, who stayed on the ice for nearly an hour, well after most of his teammates had left. Afterward, he reported no problems.
"Still lots of work to do," Malkin said. "I hope to be back soon."
Saturday's practice was his first with teammates after suffering a rib injury, courtesy of a Robert Bortuzzo crosscheck on March 16. Malkin will still need to be a full participant in practice before being cleared to return. Obviously, that won't happen in time for tomorrow night's big divisional game against the Hurricanes, but it could come some time next week. After Sunday, the Penguins will have just three games remaining in the regular season: Tuesday at Detroit, Thursday at home against the Red Wings and Saturday at home to the Rangers. Ideally, Malkin would like to play in "two or three" of those.
"More games is better, but I can't rush right now," he said.
Mike Sullivan called Saturday's development "really encouraging," but declined to put a timeline on Malkin's return.
"We're trying to make the playoffs right now," Sullivan said of the Penguins, who sit in third place in the Metro with a two-point lead over the Hurricanes but trail the Islanders by four points for second place and home-ice advantage in the first round. "It would be nice to have him as soon as we can to try and make the playoffs. That's what our goal is, that's what our mindset is. We have to win one game right in front of us. The sooner, the healthier we get to solidify a playoff spot, that's obviously the most important thing."
Why Malkin has had to miss the last six games in the first place remains a sore subject, figuratively and literally. Bortuzzo was not penalized on the play nor did he receive further discipline from the NHL's Department of Player Safety.
Like Rutherford, Malkin expressed his displeasure with the league, when I asked:
Bortuzzo spent parts of four seasons with Malkin and the Penguins, amassing 171 penalty minutes. The bruising defenseman had been previously fined $3,091 for a crosscheck on the Islanders' Brock Nelson on Oct. 9, 2017.
"He's always played like this," Malkin said. "He played here so many games. I know he can block shots. He's not a goal-scoring defenseman. He's a tough defenseman. I'm surprised because I did not see him. He came to my side, but I think it should be a penalty for sure."
Malkin then lobbed one final verbal jab at his former teammate. He doesn't want to meet Bortuzzo in a dark alley but ...
"I know it's a long time ago and I forget it, but I hope to see him in the Final."
A lot of things are going to have to happen for the Penguins to reach the Stanley Cup Final, let alone the Blues, but a healthy Malkin -- along with Kris Letang and Zach Aston-Reese -- could go a long way in determining that.
"We have a couple more injured guys," Malkin said. "If we get people back, we have a good group to win every round."
Before going down with his injury, the Russian was having a down year by his standards despite averaging 1.18 points per game with 21 goals and 50 assists in 66 games. He is a minus-24, the worst mark of his career, and his possession numbers -- including a 50.3 Corsi For percentage -- are his lowest in a decade. He also had just one goal in his last nine games. That was a power-play goal at Montreal on March 2. Nine of his 21 goals this season have come with a man-advantage.
Nowhere has Malkin and his one-timer from the right side been missed more than on the power play. The Penguins have gone just 2-for-19 in his absence, including an 0-for-4 night Friday against the Predators.
"I think with him in that spot, I think (opponents are) probably more thinking shot from that side of the ice," Sidney Crosby said. "If it's myself or Guentzy over there, we can shoot it too, but I don't think they're looking for one-timers as much as Geno is and that's something other teams have to respect, too."
• Sullivan reported that Letang skated on his own Saturday morning and is making progress. He will miss his third straight game with an upper body injury.
• The lines and pairs remained the same in practice on Saturday though Malkin split reps with Blueger as the second-line center:
Guentzel-Crosby-Rust
McCann-Malkin/Blueger-Kessel
Simon-Bjugstad-Hornqvist
A. Johnson-Cullen-Wilson
Maatta-Dumoulin
J. Johnson-Schultz
Pettersson-Gudbranson
• The power play units remain unchanged. Malkin did not participate in the special teams portion of practice.
• With a 5:08 p.m. start time vs. the Hurricanes, the Penguins will not hold a morning skate tomorrow. Sullivan will address the media at 3 p.m. DK, Taylor Haase and Matt Sunday will have your coverage.
