Ice Chips: Penguins’ Malkin day-to-day, not travelling with team

Keep updated on all the injury news and roster updates from around the NHL with daily Ice Chips.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins forwards Evgeni Malkin and Anthony Mantha were absent from Wednesday’s practice with injuries, head coach Dan Muse confirmed.

Malkin, 39, missed Tuesday’s 6-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche with an upper-body injury and will not travel with the team for their road game against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday.

The 6-foot-5 centre has been scoring at a point-per-game pace this season, recording 15 goals and 52 points in 50 games, despite missing some time due to injuries and a recent five-game suspension.

Mantha, 31, missed practice with an lower-body injury but is making the trip to Ottawa.

The 6-foot-5 winger is having a renaissance season, recording 26 goals and 53 points after missing all but 13 games last year due to an ACL injury as a member of the Calgary Flames last season.

Both Mantha and Malkin are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents at the end of the season.

Pittsburgh sits in third place in the Metropolitan Division with a 35-20-16 record and are one point behind the Columbus Blue Jackets.

They are looking to clinch the playoffs for the first time since the 2021-22 campaign.

Toronto Maple Leafs

The Maple Leafs assigned goaltender Dennis Hildeby to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies on Wednesday.

Hildeby, 24, was recalled on an emergency basis on Monday after goaltender Anthony Stolarz took a puck to the throat during Saturday’s pre-game warmup prior to the team’s 5-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators.

Stolarz was able to return to the net on Tuesday’s in the Maple Leafs’ 4-2 win over the Boston Bruins, allowing Hildeby to return to the AHL

Hildeby appeared in 19 games with the Maple Leafs this season, going 5-6-4 with a 2.90 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage.

The 6-foot-7 netminder also has a 7-5-5 record with the Marlies with a .901 save percentage and 2.54 GAA.

Edmonton Oilers

The Oilers assigned forward James Hamblin to the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors on Wednesday, a day after recalling him from Bakersfield on an emergency basis.

Hamblin, 26, did not dress for the Oilers’ 5-2 loss to the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday.

The 5-foot-10 winger has 23 goals and 37 points in 54 AHL games this season.

Hamblin is on the final year of a two-year, two-way contract with the Oilers.

Columbus Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets assigned prospect Charlie Elick from the Western Hockey League’s Tri-City Americans to the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters on Wednesday.

Elick, 20, was drafted 36th overall by the Blue Jackets in 2024.

He wrapped up his WHL season by recording 6 goals and 20 points in 63 games in his first season with the Americans.

The 6-foot-4, right-shot defenceman helped Canada to gold medals at the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and the 2024 Under-18 World Hockey Championships.

Florida Panthers

Forward Anton Lundell will miss an extended period of time with a rib injury, head coach Paul Maurice announced on Wednesday.

Lundell, 24, last appeared in the Panthers’ 4-0 win over the Edmonton Oilers on March 19 and missed the team’s last two games.

“That MRI wasn’t very good, so he’s not in the near-term future now,” Maurice told team reporter Jameson Olive. “I wouldn’t play him in the regular season or if we were fighting for [a playoff spot]. Playoffs, maybe you’d play him with that, but he’s not back until he’s 100 per cent pain free.”

The 6-foot-1 centre has 17 goals and 44 points in 64 games with the Panthers this season.

Florida sits tied for last in the Atlantic Division, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, with a 35-32-3 record and have 12 games remaining in the regular season.

Seattle Kraken

The Kraken recalled forward Oscar Fisker Molgaard from the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds on Wednesday and assigned forward Jani Nyman to the Firebirds.

Molgaard, 21, was drafted 52nd overall by the Kraken in 2023 and has a goal in three games in the NHL this season.

The 6-foot centre also has 10 goals and 32 points in the AHL this season.

Nyman, 21, appeared in 26 games with the Kraken this season, recording four goals and six points.

The 6-foot-2 winger was drafted 49th overall by the Kraken in 2022 and has 18 goals and 27 points in 29 games in the AHL this season.

Utah Mammoth

The Mammoth signed prospect Michael Hrabal to a three-year, entry-level contract on Wednesday.

The 6-foot-7 netminder was drafted 38th overall by the Arizona Coyotes in the 2023 draft.

Hrabal played this season with the University of Massachusetts, going 19-9-1 with a .937 save percentage and 1.95 goals-against average. He was awarded the NCAA Hockey East player of the year and was named a Hockey East first-team all-star for his efforts.

The Praha, Czechia native represented his country at the World Juniors in 2023 and 2024, taking home a bronze medal and named a top-3 player on his team both times.

Hrabal will report to the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners for the remainder of their season.

Additionally, the Mammoth recalled forward Daniil But from the Roadrunders on Wednesday.

But, 21, appeared in 28 games in Utah this season, recording three goals and seven points.

The 6-foot-5 winger was drafted 12th overall in 2023 by the Coyotes and has 16 goals and 33 points in 34 games in his first season in the AHL.