The Penguins will be without their top two centers in New Jersey. Evgeni Malkin, mired in what some would argue has been a season-long slump, will sit out tonight’s game with what’s believed to be a knee injury. There’s a pretty good chance Geno might miss the Pens’ remaining two games (Saturday and Tuesday) before All-Star weekend. If you recall, Malkin fell awkwardly in last Saturday’s win against Boston. I didn’t think it looked good at the time and was relieved when Malkin returned to the game. Unfortunately, it looks like my initial fears have been confirmed. Malkin has struggled without Crosby in the lineup, and perhaps his knee really is to blame.
The Pens recalled Dustin Jeffrey from Wilkes-Barre yesterday, but it’s doubtful he’ll replace Malkin on the top line. My guess is that you’ll see Mark Letestu, who signed a well-deserved two-year contract extension Tuesday, centering Pascal Dupuis and Chris Kunitz. It would be tough to break up Staal-Cooke-Kennedy, who have been on fire lately, and I think Letestu is more capable in that role than Max Talbot.
At this point, the Pens just have to survive the rest of January and hope the All-Star break gives Sid and Geno enough time to properly heal. (As for the All-Star game itself, I doubt either will play. Quite frankly, I hope they don’t.) It would help matters if Fleury and Staal continued their stellar play and if the penalty kill continued to dominate. Bottom line: The Pens only have three games to go, and two of them are against the worst teams in the conference (New Jersey, Islanders). They should be fine…at least for now.