Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin was ejected from Thursday’s game for his slash to the head of Buffalo Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin.
And now he is looking at a suspension. The NHL Player Safety department said that the center would have a hearing on March 6 for slashing.
Malkin has a history of being suspended for stick infractions. He received a four-game suspension in 2022 for cross-checking and a one-game suspension in 2019 for slashing.
He was responding on March 5 to a cross-check from Dahlin near the Sabres net in the second period. Malkin swung his stick and hit Dahlin in the side of the face and neck. He received two minutes for cross-checking and five minutes and a game misconduct for slashing.
Will Evgeni Malkin be suspended?
Yes, he’s facing a disciplinary hearing and his history will work against him.
What would be the impact of an Evgeni Malkin suspension?
The timing wouldn’t be good because Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is out with an injury suffered at the Olympics. His initial timeline was he would miss four weeks after the Olympics, but a reporter at the Penguins practice on Friday said Crosby was there.
The Penguins currently sit in second place in the Metropolitan Division.