Just two games into the season and the injury bug has already taken a significant bite out of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Coach Mike Sullivan announced on Monday that centers Evgeni Malkin and Nick Bjugstad will both be sidelined with lower-body injuries that are expected to keep them out of the lineup “long-term.”

Sullivan said that Malkin’s injury will likely sideline him longer than Bjugstad’s.

TSN’s Darren Dreger reported on Monday that Malkin’s injury is a “soft tissue” injury and that he is expected to be sidelined for around a month.

Both players exited the Penguins’ 7-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night.

Malkin was injured when he lost his balance through the neutral zone and fell awkwardly into the boards. He immediately went to the locker room and did not return. Here is a look at the play.

Big things were expected for Malkin this season as he was looking to rebound from a down 2018-19 season. He came into camp motivated and with a chip on his shoulder and was looking to show he is still one of the league’s top players. He had been playing on a newly formed second line alongside offseason additions Alex Galchenyuk and Brandon Tanev that had made a strong first impression.

Both injuries are pretty big losses in the short-term for a Penguins team that is already short on depth and was going to need its star players — and especially Malkin — to play big roles this season. They still have Sidney Crosby to drive the top line, and as long as Matt Murray can keep playing the way he has in net there is still every reason to believe they can compete. It just makes things a lot tougher for them until their center depth returns.

With Malkin and Bjugstad sidelined Jared McCann will likely take over as the team’s second line center, with Teddy Blueger presumably moving to third line duty.

The team announced on Monday it has recalled Sam Lafferty and Andrew Agozzino from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

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