The Penguins will have their other generational talent and superstar center in the lineup for the first time this season tonight in Anaheim.
Head coach Mike Sullivan said that Evgeni Malkin will play in Pittsburgh's matchup with the Ducks, which is scheduled for 10 p.m. Eastern time at Honda Center.
"I think he looks really strong," Sullivan said. "He's in great shape. He's skating really well. He's such a talented guy. He's the type of player that has the ability to have an impact immediately, and I'm sure he will in this game."
When Malkin hits the ice, the three-time Stanley Cup Champion will join Sidney Crosby (17), Mario Lemieux (17) and Kris Letang (16) as the only players in franchise history to skate 16 seasons with the team. He's not just one of the best Penguins of all-time - Mr. 101 is one of the best players of all time, period.
That being said, Sullivan said they're cognizant that it's going to be a process for the 35-year-old to capture his best game after a months-long rehab process that kept him out for the first 34 games of the season following knee surgery on June 4.
"He has missed a fair amount of time, so we have an understanding of that," Sullivan said. "We're going to try to put him in positions where he can play to his strengths. But we believe he'll have an immediate impact."
Malkin centered the second line with Jeff Carter on his left and Kasperi Kapanen on his right during Monday's practice, and skated on the top power-play unit with Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel, Evan Rodrigues and Kris Letang. Read more on the impact Malkin is expected to have.
Here are the other updates from Sullivan's media availability following the Penguins optional morning skate…
- After goaltender Casey DeSmith tested positive for COVID on Monday, forwards Danton Heinen and Zach Aston-Reese tested positive this morning and have entered the protocol.
Heinen is symptomatic, while Sullivan said it's his understanding that Aston-Reese is asymptomatic. It's the second time this season that the 27-year-old forward has gotten the virus, as he also tested positive back on Sep. 26 and was symptomatic during that bout.
Sullivan said there's a possibility that forwards Bryan Rust and Brock McGinn, who are currently isolating in Dallas after testing positive for COVID over the weekend, could test out of the protocol at the end of the week. McGinn tested positive on Friday and Rust tested positive on Saturday.
It's a situation where even though the Penguins are trying to do everything within their power to mitigate the risk, Sullivan said he comes into the rink every day holding his breath and hoping that head athletic trainer Chris Stewart will say that they're all good after their morning testing.
"That's just the world that we're living in right now. So nothing at this point really catches us by surprise," Sullivan said. "We've tried to prepare for it in every way that we can. It's not an easy thing to do. … We're trying to control what we can, we're trying to embrace the adversity, we're trying to think things through as best we can so that we have contingencies built in in the event that this stuff comes our way."
The Penguins currently have 12 forwards available to them with Anthony Angello and Radim Zohorna on the temporary taxi squad, which is one of the contingencies the league put into place to help teams deal with COVID-related issues.
- Jason Zucker took part in the optional morning skate wearing a white no-contact jersey. The forward has missed the last four games while dealing with a nagging lower-body injury that has him listed as week-to-week.
Sullivan said that Zucker has had a number of individual skates with skills coach Ty Hennes, including one after yesterday's practice, so he's making progress.
"He's going through a rehab process that entails some days on the ice, some days off the ice," Sullivan said. "His status hasn't changed. We'll update you when he gets closer."
- And finally, Tristan Jarry will get the start in goal.
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