Injured Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin is expected to travel with his team for an upcoming three-game road trip according to coach Mike Sullivan.
If that means Malkin will play in any of those games, that is a matter of speculation at this juncture.
Malkin has missed the past three contests due to an undisclosed malady.
Per Sullivan, Malkin skated before a practice session in Cranberry on Wednesday along with injured defenseman P.O Joseph.
Various injuries have limited Malkin to 62 games and 46 points (15 goals, 31 assists) this season.
Notes:
• Joseph remains on injured reserve due to an undisclosed malady that has sidelined him for the past 13 games.
• Injured forward Tommy Novak remained off the ice as he rehabilitates an undisclosed ailment that has kept him out of the lineup for the previous nine contests.
• Forward Joona Koppanen was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League Wednesday morning under emergency roster conditions. According to Sullivan, a handful of incumbent forwards are dealing with some minor injuries and that created the emergency conditions leading to Koppanen’s recall.
As it is, Koppanen’s left thigh was heavily taped following Wednesday’s practice session.
• The Penguins’ lines and pairings in practice were
2 - Rutger McGroarty - 87 Sidney Crosby - 17 Bryan Rust
19 Connor Dewar - 67 Rickard Rakell - 41 Ville Koivunen
53 Philip Tomasino - 13 Kevin Hayes - 55 Noel Acciari
43 Danton Heinen - 46 Blake Lizotte - 15 Joona Koppanen
24 Matt Grzelcyk - 58 Kris Letang
20 Conor Timmins - 65 Erik Karlsson
27 Ryan Graves - 5 Ryan Shea
Timmins and Karlsson, each right-handers, have been paired together for a handful of games as of late with Karlsson on the left side. During Wednesday’s practice, they switched.
• Forward Emil Bemstrom, who cleared waivers on Wednesday, and defenseman Vladislav Koylachonok operated as reserves during rushes.
• The top power-play unit included Crosby, Grzelcyk, Koivunen, Rakell and Rust. The second power-play unit involved Hayes, Karlsson, Letang, McGroarty and Tomasino.
