Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin expected to make season debut
Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin is expected to make his season debut in Tuesday’s road game against the Anaheim Ducks.
Coach Mike Sullivan announced Malkin “is going to play” to media in Anaheim following the team’s optional morning skate at the Honda Center.
Having recovered from offseason surgery to his right knee, Malkin was activated from long-term injured reserve on Tuesday afternoon.
“He’s practiced for quite a while,” Sullivan said. “He looks really strong, he’s in great shape, he’s skating very well. He’s such a talented guy, he’s the type of player that has the ability to have an impact immediately and I’m sure that he will in this game. It will take him time to capture his very best game. He has missed a fair amount of time. We have an understanding of that. We’re going to try to put him in positions where he can play to his strengths. But we believe that he’ll have an immediate impact.”
Malkin’s most recent game was Game 6 – a road contest — of a first-round series with the New York Islanders during the 2021 postseason on May 26.
Notes:
• It wasn’t all good news Sullivan offered on Tuesday. Forwards Zach Aston-Reese and Danton Heinen have been placed into the NHL’s protocols for covid-19.
Aston-Reese was placed into them during the preseason and missed the first two games of the regular season. In 32 games, he has eight points (one goal, seven assists) and an average of 13:55 of ice time per contest.
This marks the first time Heinen has entered the protocols this season. Appearing in all 34 games to this point of the season, Heinen has 16 points (nine goals, seven assists) and has averaged 13:02 of ice time per contest.
They join forwards Brock McGinn and Bryan Rust and goaltender Casey DeSmith among the Penguins’ players in the protocols.
Sullivan indicated Heinen and Rust are symptomatic while Aston-Reese and McGinn are asymptomatic. There was no mention of DeSmith’s status.
• According to the NHL’s media site, forwards Anthony Angello and Radim Zohorna were promoted to the NHL roster from the taxi squad. That will allow the Penguins to dress a full complement of 12 forwards for the game. On Monday, both players were recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL).
Various ailments have limited Angello to seven AHL games and two points (one goal, one assist) this season.
Zohorna has appeared in one NHL game this season and has one assist. In 23 AHL contests, he has 10 points (five goals, five assists).
Additionally, reserve goaltender Louis Domingue was summoned from the taxi squad.
Domingue has dressed for two NHL games this season but has not played. In 10 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL) this season, Domingue has a 3-4-2 record, along with a 2.69 goals against average and a .918 save percentage.
The team has not yet formally announced those promotions.
• The Penguins are expected to start goaltender Tristan Jarry. In 27 games this season, Jarry has a 17-6-4 record, a 1.94 goals against average, a .931 save percentage and three shutouts.
• For the Ducks, defenseman Hampus Lindholm and former Penguins forward Derek Grant were removed from the league’s protocols for covid-19 and are expected to be in the lineup.
• Ducks All-Star goaltender John Gibson, a native of Whitehall, remains in protocols for covid-19 after testing positive on Thursday.
• Goaltender Anthony Stolarz is expected to start in net for the Ducks. In 11 games this season, he has a 6-3-1 recorda long with a 2.22 goals against average, a .931 save percentage and two shutouts.
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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