March 14, 2015
News/views: Crosby, Malkin not serious 27
Evgeni Malkin is checked by athletic trainer Chris Stewart during the first period Saturday. — GETTY
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
News: Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin both were lost to the Penguins before or during today’s game against the Bruins here at Consol Energy Center, the former for an unknown reason and the latter to what appeared to be a leg injury.
Views: Weird day up here. Crosby participated in warmups and had no known prior health issue, and he even was penned onto Mike Johnston’s card for the opening faceoff. But he never emerged for the game, and the Penguins’ announcement divulged only that Crosby ‘could not play.’ No mention of injury or ailment.
What I can add, independently, is that I’ve heard it’s a strong possibility Crosby won’t play in tomorrow’s matinee against the Red Wings, either. All I know.
Malkin’s case is different: He was bumped on his first shift — quite innocuously, it should be noted — by the Bruins’ Chris Kelly. His left ankle appeared to turn awkwardly, and Malkin stayed down in visible discomfort for a couple of minutes. He returned later in the first period but never came back for the second.
UPDATE 4:02 p.m.: Johnston just said that Crosby fell ill before the game and went to see doctors, adding, “It’s not an injury.” He didn’t describe anything about Malkin’s injury. But most noteworthy was this: “We’ll get a better evaluation shortly as to whether … we think they might be able to play tomorrow or not.” It was an odd inflection, so read into it what you will. Here’s the audio.
Bottom line: Even if they can’t face Detroit, the strong suggestion there is that neither issue is serious.
