"I played [the next game] in [Philadelphia] and it's not too great," Malkin said of the Penguins' 4-0 loss Wednesday. "It's like pain is coming and I feel like I can't shoot because there's pain every time in my shoulder. … I don't block a lot, but we lost the puck in the neutral zone, they played in the offensive zone for a long time and I see the forward ready to shoot and I just try to block the shot. It's not perfect, but it's instinct."
Shortly after taking the ice for the Penguins morning skate Friday, Malkin gathered his sticks and went down the runway to the locker room. Following the skate, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said Malkin had been dealing with the injury for a while.
Sullivan said Friday he would provide more information on the severity of Malkin's injury Saturday. One day later, Sullivan sounded optimistic that Malkin won't be out much longer.
"I don't think it's a long-term thing," Sullivan said. "We'll see how he is in the morning, but this is going to be a day-to-day thing, but we're hopeful that he'll be back soon. … We don't want to see Geno get hurt, or any of our guys for that matter, but the nature of the game is that it's a belligerent game.
"We all run that risk anytime we lace up our skates."
The Penguins, who have 12 games remaining in the regular season, trail the Washington Capitals by three points for first place and are one behind the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference.
Malkin joined a lengthy Pittsburgh injury list that includes defensemen Kris Letang (upper body), Olli Maatta (hand), Trevor Daley (knee) and Ron Hainsey (upper body), and forwards Carl Hagelin (lower body) and Bryan Rust (upper body). Rust, who has been out since Feb. 9, practiced in a red non-contact jersey Saturday.
Before his injury, Malkin had been Pittsburgh's most productive player in recent weeks. He has 10 points (seven goals, three assists) in his past seven games.
