The NHL All-Star game is one of the biggest events of the season and the 2017 NHL All-Star Game is no different. Some of the world’s top players all gather in one town, surrounded by fans of all teams. The players rewarded for the great seasons they are having voted in by fans and picked by the league itself.
Unfortunately, the game falls just past the midway point of the season, meaning some players are injured or sitting out to get extra rest before the playoff push. One of those players will be Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin.
Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette with the report from coach Mike Sullivan:
Evgeni Malkin will miss Thursday’s game at Boston and the NHL All-Star Game this weekend with a lower-body injury he sustained Tuesday in a 3-0 loss to the Blues, coach Mike Sullivan announced Wednesday after practice.
Malkin, who sits third in the NHL in points with 54 points (22 goals, 32 assists), will miss Thursday’s game against the Boston Bruins, and will then sit out of the All-Star game in Los Angeles on Sunday. According to Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan, Malkin is dealing with a lower-body injury. He appeared to have suffered the injury against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday after being hit by defenseman Joel Edmundson. He couldn’t put weight on his leg following the hit, but it’s unknown if that caused this injury.
Since Malkin will be sitting out of Thursday’s contest, he will not face any discipline for missing the game. Because so many players have missed the game due to “injury” despite not missing a regular season game, the NHL requires a player to miss either the game before or after the break. Malkin will serve that one game “suspension” by sitting out Thursday.
The NHL will have to find a replacement for Malkin on the Metropolitan All-Star team before this weekend. There are many names to choose from, including Malkin’s teammate Phil Kessel, who has 14 goals on the season. Other potential replacements include Washington Capitals forward Niklas Backstrom or Columbus Blue Jackets forward Cam Atkinson, who is second in goals this season.
