Evengi Malkin Could Be Done For The Season
Added on Feb 07, 2011 by J Merrill in
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The injury news for the Penguins keep getting worse and worse. Sidney Crosby is out with a concussion, and a return date is unknown. Mark Letestu has a meniscus injury, and he will be out for four to six weeks.
Evengi Malkin, who was just returning from a five game injury absence, has joined the group of the walking wounded. The bad news for Malkin is that he isn’t expected to be back anytime soon. Penguins Coach Dan Bylsma told the media that Malkin now has two torn ligaments, and it is unclear if he will need surgery. Surgery would side line Malkin for the remainder of the season. Bylsma admitted to the media that things were still very much in the air on his return. He said “Even with [just] rehab, I’m not sure what the prognosis would be.”
Bylsma let out some of his frustration, and admitted that their will be a hole that needs to be filled on the Penguins. “You’re talking about Evgeni Malkin and the quality of player that he is. He’s a guy that’s won a scoring title and a Conn Smythe. We were anticipating getting him back in the lineup and healthy back in the lineup. This is a difficult injury for him.”
Malkin was injured during Friday night’s 3-2 home win over the Buffalo Sabres. He had an MRI exam Saturday, which showed the tears to both the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments. Bylsma said treatment options are being discussed. Bylsma said its going to be rough on the team, and for Malkin. He said “It was kind of a fluke situation going into the boards with a guy. That’s a tough injury for Geno. We have dealt with games without him. We’ve managed to find our way without him. That’s what we’re going to have to look at now.” He said of the play itself “It really was the second part of the contact that made the hit. That was two guys kind of going into the boards on their own that happened to land on each other, which caused the hit. I don’t think at the point of injury that Myers had any intent of even making contact with anybody.”
The Penguins now have to power though the difficulties without Malkin, and Crosby who has now missed 12 games. Penguins general manager Ray Shero said its day by day with Crosby. He said “I don’t have a timeline for Crosby’s return. I know he’s feeling better. Until he’s symptom-free, there’s not much we can say. The good news is that there’s plenty of time for him to come back and make a contribution this season. But, at this point, we just don’t know when he’ll be back.”
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