Malkin Misses Practice; All Six D On Ice Despite Trotman Recall

Pittsburgh Penguins leading scorer Evgeni Malkin did not practice Wednesday at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, throwing into doubt whether he will be able to play Thursday at Toronto.

Malkin left Tuesday’s pregame warmup early and was scratched for a 5-2 win over Toronto because of illness. More information could be coming from coach Mike Sullivan after practice.

The Penguins somewhat mysteriously recalled defenseman Zach Trotman from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis. That was announced an hour or so before Wednesday’s practice.

However, all six defensemen who played Tuesday practiced, and Trotman was not on the ice.

To make room for Trotman on the roster, the Penguins placed rookie defenseman John Marino, already out because of facial surgery, on injured reserve.

Trotman has played in five games this season with the NHL Penguins.

Before practice, defenseman Brian Dumoulin skated for the second day in a row, according to head coach Mike Sullivan. He has been out since he got hurt Nov. 30 in the first minute of a game against St. Louis. It was starting to get a little curious that he had not been seen on the ice.

Center Nick Bjugstad also skated, as he has been doing lately as he recovers from core muscle surgery.