Getting Evgeni Malkin back wasn’t enough for the Pittsburgh Penguins to win Game 3. Maybe the return of speedy winger Carl Hagelin can help tip the scales as Pittsburgh aims to tie its series in Game 4 against the Washington Capitals?
Hagelin, 29, has been sidelined since Game 6 (April 22) of the series against the Philadelphia Flyers, as a big hit by Claude Giroux forced him to miss the remainder of that contest and then the first three games versus the Caps.
[NBC’s Stanley Cup Playoff Hub]
It’s unclear how much this might stick, but so far, it looks like Hagelin will skate with Evgeni Malkin and Patric Hornqvist.
This is different than how the Pens warmed up.
— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) May 3, 2018
(Malkin was between Simon and Rust; Hagelin was with Sheahan-Kessel)
Will be interesting to see if this is just a first shift thing or if the lines will be changed.
Also, it's been Maatta-Schultz and Oleksiak-Ruhwedel on D. https://t.co/JKkaHPpJ79
Hagelin is playing Game 4 with a protective mask, but as nasty as this series is getting, the Capitals are unlikely to be able to give Hagelin the Joel Embiid treatment.
We cared who he was before he put on the mask. pic.twitter.com/BGlxytwYTG
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) May 3, 2018
After scoring 10 goals and 31 points during the regular season, Hagelin generated three points through his first six games of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Check out Game 4 on NBCSN right now; here’s the livestream link.
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.