Malkin, Letang return to lineup

With the Penguins still looking to officially punch their tickets to the playoffs, injured stars Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang returned to the lineup Thursday against the Detroit Red Wings at PPG Paints Arena.

“Players want to play and they’re competitive guys,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “That’s why they are where they’re at in the NHL.”

Malkin practiced Wednesday without any contact restrictions and was back out there Thursday for a morning skate. At practice Wednesday, he centered the second line and got all the firstteam power-play reps.

Malkin missed eight games after he was crosschecked in the torso March 16 by Robert Bortuzzo of the St. Louis Blues. Prior to that, he had scored 21 goals and dished 50 assists in 66 games while posting a careerworst minus-24 rating.

Letang, meanwhile, wore a non-contact jersey Wednesday, then pulled on a normal one Thursday morning.

Letang, an All-Star this season, sat out the past four games after he “didn’t feel that comfortable” upon returning to the lineup two weeks ago. He initially suffered an upper-body injury in the outdoor game Feb. 23 in Philadelphia.

The defenseman played three games before it was decided he would take more time to recover from that injury. Wednesday was his first practice since then.

Power outage

Perhaps the biggest benefit of Malkin returning will be on the power play. The Penguins converted just 2 of 18 power-play opportunities with Malkin, a dangerous shooter on the right side, out of the lineup.

“I think it’s obvious the impact he has,” Sullivan said.

The Penguins still ranked fifth in the NHL in conversion rate at 24.5 percent entering Thursday.

Dumoulin out

Brian Dumoulin missed his second game in a row with a lower-body injury.

Dumoulin was injured Sunday in 3-1 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes and has not practiced since.

“He’s making progress,” Sullivan said. “His status is still day-to-day.”

Blueger reflects

When Malkin returned, it had a trickle-down effect on the depth chart.

Rookie Teddy Blueger, who had taken Malkin’s spot as the second-line center, dropped to the fourth line.

In eight games with Malkin out, Blueger had three goals, one assist and a plus-4 rating.

‘A lot of points’

Entering Thursday the Penguins already had 97 points in the standings, which in most years already would be enough to secure a playoff spot.

“I think it shows, No. 1, how even and how good our division is,” Matt Cullen said.