Turns out the injury currently plaguing Evgeni Malkin is a familiar one.
Malkin, who missed time in March with a lower-body ailment, told reporters on Friday that he returned too quickly from the injury and “didn’t feel good” after last weekend’s back-to-back against Arizona and San Jose, which is why he sat out Wednesday’s loss to Philly and will sit again on Saturday against Columbus:#Pens Evgeni Malkin: I won’t play tomorrow (at CBJ) but maybe Sunday (at PHI).”
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 3, 2015
#Pens Malkin: “I rushed (previous injury). Came back a little too early and didn’t feel good after back-to-back games.”
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 3, 2015
Malkin, who turns 29 in July, has been dinged up over the course of the year and has missed 12 games as a result. This comes on the heels of a 2013-14 campaign in which he missed 22 games to various injuries (foot, lower body). Despite these ailments, the Russian sniper has still produced at a high level; last year he scored at a 1.20 points-per-game clip and, this season, is plugging along at 1.06.