Pittsburgh Penguins veteran Evgeni Malkin was placed on injured reserve Tuesday and labelled week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
Forward Blake Lizotte was also placed on IR and given the same timeline, leading the Penguins to recall Danton Heinen and Sam Poulin from the AHL.
Malkin’s injury comes after the 39-year-old posted eight goals and 29 points in 26 games to start the season, putting him on pace to top the point-per-game mark for the first time since 2022-23.
It’s unclear when Malkin’s injury occurred. He logged 14:58 of ice time in a 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning last Thursday before sitting out Sunday’s 3-2 shootout loss to the Dallas Stars.
Lizotte logged 13:59 of ice time against the Stars, posting an assist. The 27-year-old winger has three goals and five points in 27 games.
Heinen has one assist in nine games with the Penguins this season and six goals and 18 points in 12 games with the AHL club. Signed at a cap hit of $2.25 million, the 30-year-old winger was waived by Pittsburgh prior to the start of the season.
Poulin, 24, has nine goals and 20 points in 21 AHL games this season and has gone without a point in two games with the Penguins. He was selected 21st overall in the 2019 draft.
The Penguins hold a record of 14-7-6 this season and are in the thick of the playoff race after missing the postseason in each of the past three years.
Pittsburgh will host the 18-10-1 Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday.
