Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin has been suspended 4 games by the NHL department of player safety.
The Russian star cross checked Predators defenseman Mark Borowiecki in the face following a scuffle near the end of the 2nd period Sunday. Referees only issued a double minor for the incident, despite the fact that Borowiecki was immediately split open.
After reviewing the matter, the league deemed the cross check “retaliatory and aggressive”, leading to the 4 game ban. The suspension is the second of Malkin’s career, as he sat out 1 game in 2019 for high sticking.
The team will be in tough without Malkin for the next few games as they’re currently mired in a 3-6-1 stretch. Pittsburgh currently sits in 3rd place in the Metropolitan Division with 94pts, however Washington is nipping at their heels with 90pts and 2 games in hand.
Despite missing several games to start the season due to injury, Malkin is currently producing at a point per game pace. The 6’3” centre has 37pts (17G, 20A) through 37 games for the season.
Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and, based on his average annual salary, Malkin will forfeit $190,000.00. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
The 35 year old is eligible to return April 23rd versus Detroit.
Photo: Michael Miller. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.