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 Thursday 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 Thursday morning under emergency roster conditions. According to Sullivan, a handful of incumbent forwards are dealing with some minor injuries and Koppanen’s recall necessitated the emergency conditions.
As it is, Koppanen’s left thigh was heavily taped following Thursday’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 Thursday’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.