Evgeni Malkin Suspended Four Games for Cross-Checking

Evgeni Malkin will be missing a pivotal stretch of games as the playoffs approach.

The Pittsburgh Penguins forward was handed a four-game suspension on Monday for cross-checking Nashville Predators defenseman Mark Borowiecki on Sunday. Malkin, who has been known to lose his cool from time, to time to say the least, delivered the check to the face of the Nashville defender.

The play by Malkin was clearly uncalled for and crossed a line. It is not the first time that Geno has been suspended, with the other instance coming in 2019 following an incident against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Pittsburgh won Sunday’s game in spite of the foolish play by Malkin, but now the Pens will be tasked with playing four of their final eight games without one of their most impactful players.

Evgeni Malkin has been suspended for four games.

During his absence, the Penguins will face the New York Islanders twice and the Boston Bruins twice. The Isles are a tough team that, even without the postseason in its future, could give Pittsburgh a difficult time.

The Bruins, however, are playing for postseason positioning, so those games will undoubtedly have a playoff-like atmosphere. With Pittsburgh also jockeying for position in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, this figures to be a difficult, yet important stretch of hockey.

On the season, the Pens are 42-22-10. Their 94 points are good for third place in the Metropolitan Division, with the Washington Capitals threatening to drop Pittsburgh to a wild card spot.

The Penguins earned an important two points against the Predators over the weekend, but that doesn’t suddenly change the fact that things have not been easy lately in the Steel City. This will be a critical week and a half, and now the Pens will have to navigate it without Malkin.

Geno will be eligible to return for the Penguins when they take on the Detroit Red Wings on April 23 in Detroit.