Penguins place Evgeni Malkin on injured reserve, recall Jesse Puljujarvi
The Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward Evgeni Malkin on injured reserve and recalled forward Jesse Puljujarvi from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.
Those transactions were announced by the team on social media and reflected on the NHL’s media website Monday afternoon.
Malkin suffered an undisclosed injury during the first period of a 4-1 road loss to the Seattle Kraken on Saturday. The IR designation means he will be out at least seven days.
Typically deployed as the team’s second-line center and on the second power-play unit, the left-handed Malkin is the Penguins’ fourth-leading scorer this season with 34 points (nine goals, 25 assists) in 47 games while averaging 18 minutes, 3 seconds of ice time per contest.
Puljujarvi, a right-handed shot, returns to the NHL roster after he was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Jan. 14. He cleared waivers Dec. 31, making him eligible for an assignment.
In three games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Puljujarvi has three points (one goal, two assists). Puljujarvi was scratched from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s lineup Sunday during a 5-1 home win against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Before his assignment, Puljujarvi skated in 25 NHL games this season and scored nine points (three goals, six assists) while averaging 11:35 of ice time per contest.
Puljujarvi, 26, is in the final year of a two-year contract with a salary cap hit of $800,000.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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