The Pittsburgh Penguins (2-0-1) will be shorthanded again when they host the Florida Panthers in the team’s hope opener tonight at 7:30 PM.
Superstar Evgeni Malkin (lower body) will likely miss tonight’s game after sitting out Sunday against the Edmonton Oilers. He skated in this morning’s skate, but didn’t take any shifts with the team’s top four lines or power play units.
Malkin was injured in Saturday night’s game against the Calgary Flames, though some contradicting reports have stated that Geno has been dealing with this injury for almost a week now.
The good news is that it doesn’t seem to have anything to do with his surgically repaired knee, which cause him to miss nearly half of the 2010-11 season, and the entire playoffs.
Defenseman Brooks Orpik will also miss tonight’s game. Orpik has yet to play a game this season, but is said to be progressing.
Speaking of progressing, Sidney Crosby is scheduled to meet with the team’s medical staff today.
Aside from reports by some major media outlets (*cough* ESPN), Crosby’s meeting is simply a scheduled check-in, and is not because the staff has seen enough progress in Crosby’s recovery to clear him for contact. It is unlikely that Crosby will be cleared for contact today, though certainly not impossible.
Sid hasn’t missed a scheduled practice since the opening of training camp in September.
I’ll have a pregame preview later on today with the team’s lines for tonight’s game.
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