When Evgeni Malkin left last night’s game against Buffalo with a lower body injury, the worry was that it was yet another setback for the star center’s ailing knee. Today, those suspicions were confirmed as coach Dan Bylsma revealed that Malkin has a torn MCL and torn ACL in the right knee that he’ll need surgery on to repair and he’ll miss the rest of the season.
Malkin will be seeking a second opinion to see if he needs surgery over just rehabbing the injury, but with two tears like that in the knee getting it operated on seems like the proper route to repair the problem. Bylsma tried to keep the positive face on today when discussing the injury.“This is a difficult injury for him. It was kind of a fluke situation going into the boards with a guy. That’s a tough injury for Geno. We have dealt with games without him. We’ve managed to find our way without him. That’s what we’re going to have to look at now.
“We’re discussing options with our doctor. Surgery is a possibility. I’m not sure if there is a rehab possibility. But right now I just got the news on the MRI.”
Malkin was the 2009 Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the MVP of the playoffs during the Penguins Stanley Cup run and he’s often been as good as and occasionally better than Crosby throughout their career. The Penguins offense hasn’t been as electric without those two players in the lineup and now they’ll have to make due without Malkin the rest of the way.
With Crosby still dealing with concussion issues and now Malkin out for the season, the Penguins are in a position now to be a wildcard player at the trade deadline. The Penguins are playing tough and successful hockey lately but to expect this team to make a run at the Stanley Cup as it’s currently made up would be a stretch. GM Ray Shero has never been a guy to make a rash deal so don’t expect something wild and desperate, but do expect the Penguins to be big players at the end of the month at the deadline.
For now, the Penguins will continue to be patient with Crosby to get him back in the lineup and then he and Jordan Staal will set up as the top two centers on the team. Lacking Malkin’s ability to get free and score will hurt but with how the Pens have been playing of late, expect more of the same hard-nosed play until/if a personnel change can be made to spark the offense.