Malkin Injured on Hard Open Ice Hit vs. Boston; Blueger Scratched

The Pittsburgh Penguins are on a roll. The team won six in a row, climbed to third place in the East Division, and superstar center Evgeni Malkin had an eight-game scoring streak with 12 points (4g, 8a). It only stands to reason that Penguins would encounter potentially bad injury news.

The Penguins have had an intimate and hateful relationship with the injury bug over the past two seasons. In each of the last two seasons, the Penguins have spent time atop the ManGameslost.com most injured list.

Six minutes into the first period, Malkin went down after a hard hit by Boston Bruins defenseman Jared Tinordi. The open-ice hit was clean and did not have injurious intent, but Tinordi is a big defenseman whose hits leave a mark.

Here is the Tinordi hit on Malkin:

Malkin received medical attention on the bench before going to the locker room. He returned several minutes later for a Penguins power play but left the ice again. He did not return for the remainder of the first period.

Malkin, 34, had a slow start to the season but has been on a tear over the past 15 games. Not only was he on an eight-game scoring streak, but he and linemate Kasperi Kapanen have also become a dominant line. On Monday night, Malkin scored his 1100th career point for the Penguins. He became the third Penguin in history to do so all in a Penguins uniform and just the third Russian player to score 1100 NHL points.

Malkin played only 3:43 before he possibly joined the Penguins injuries list, which currently includes Jason Zucker on LTIR, John Marino, and Jared McCann on IR. Both McCann and Marino participated in the Penguins morning skate on Tuesday, but neither played.

Also, Penguins third line center Teddy Blueger, who is having a career year with four goals and 11 assists in 28 games, was a surprise scratch on Tuesday. The Penguins did not provide an injury update, and morning skates are closed to media this season for virus safety precautions.

The Penguins and Bruins were tied 1-1 after the first period and scored immediately after the power play for which Evgeni Malkin returned