Evgeni Malkin wasn’t on the ice for practice in Dallas ahead of tomorrow’s game with a maintenance day. Here were the lines.
Not listed, forward Joona Koppanen, who officially cleared waivers this afternoon. Koppanen, with no goals and one assist in 10 NHL games should be heading back down to Wilkes-Barre in the near future.
GM Kyle Dubas said a handful of days ago that both Justin Brazeau and Noel Acciari were still 7-10 days away from returning to the lineup, but both have been practicing in normal capacity for a while and both are in positions they could return to eventually. If neither can play, Malkin should be able to slot into that second line tomorrow — players with “maintenance” designations are usually able to play the next game, and Boko Imama can always slide back into the fourth line as needed until Acciari is ready.
Malkin was able to catch up with his good friend Sergei Gonchar. Gonchar has decided to settle into family life in Dallas after spending the past few seasons as a coach for the Vancouver Canucks.
We’ll see if the shuffle up top means anything with Tommy Novak practicing on the top line with Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust or if that was a result to move Kevin Hayes back to center for a day in Malkin’s absence.
Either way, the Penguins should be getting healthier and more bodies back in the very near future.
