Malkin would like to play this weekend
NEWARK, N.J. — Evgeni Malkin would like to play in a regular-season game or two before the postseason starts next week.
If the 80-minute skating session serves as any indication, the chances of Malkin doing that are fairly high.
“I think very close,” Malkin said. “Day by day. It’s my first practice with the team. I’m skating more every day. I need skating to be ready for playoffs. After this game, we have two left. I hope I play. Getting close.”
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan reiterated that it makes no sense to do something stupid, simply to say Malkin, out since March 15 with a shoulder injury from blocking a shot two nights earlier, played a game before the playoffs.
“We would like him to be 100 percent, so that he’s ready to play,” Sullivan said. “We’ve taken a cautious approach with him. I think he’s played a fair amount of games this year.
“We’re not overly concerned that he’s got to knock the rust off. We feel pretty strongly that he can step right in and be an impact player for us.”
The Penguins have two games left on their regularseason schedule, both on the road — at Toronto Saturday and Sunday in New York against the Rangers.
Malkin wore a gray, noncontact sweater at the morning skate Thursday. He could easily take contact at practice Friday in Toronto, see how it reacts overnight into Saturday, then play that night at the Air Canada Centre.
Malkin said he is pushing through his rehab. At first, he experienced some pain between sessions, and he counsulted with Sullivan and the team’s medical staff to adjust things appropriately.
Currently, he’s pain-free and eager to return.
“I did my best,” Malkin said. “I feel like if I can play last game, the last two, I will. If not, I’m ready for playoffs. It’s tough to say right now. I’m trying to do my best. Every day feels better.”
Malkin did this last year; he was hurt in March, then returned for the second game of the playoffs.
“We’re playing Columbus,” Malkin said. “They’re a tough team. We need to be ready physically. Great shape. Do my job. Skate every day. Help my teammates. We need to be ready right away.”
The Penguins, of course, will be without No. 1 defenseman Kris Letang for the playoffs, The team announced Wednesday that Letang will be out 4-6 months with a herniated disc in his neck.
Malkin is one of Letang’s longest-tenured teammates. He said the Penguins are supporting Letang but also believes the team’s top defenseman will be back to start the 2017-18 season.
“It’s tough for him,” Malkin said. “We try to support him. He’s with the team every day, too. We joke around. He’s a leader of this team. He’s a great player. I believe he’s a strong man. I think he’s back next year for sure.”
Frozen Four to return
The Frozen Four is returning to Pittsburgh. PPG Paints Arena will host the event in 2022, according to a report in the Boston Herald, although there has been no formal announcement from the NCAA.
The Penguins declined comment.
The Penguins played host to the Frozen Four for the first time in 2013, as Yale beat Quinnipiac for the national championship.
The 2018 Frozen Four will be in St. Paul, Minn., followed by Detroit, Buffalo, N.Y., and Boston from 201921, according to the Herald.
Line it up
Trevor Daley returned from a 20-game absence, his first game back after knee surgery. Daley started the game on a defensive pairing with Brian Dumoulin.
Bryan Rust, who left the game Tuesday in the third period with a lower-body injury and did not practice Wednesday, also played and skated with Nick Bonino and Phil Kessel.
Dominik Simon, recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton earlier in the day, was scratched from the lineup along with defensemen Mark Streit and Cameron Gaunce.