Penguins' Evgeni Malkin returns to practice Saturday

Evgeni Malkin has been sidelined for the last six games because of an upper-body injury. However, he returned to the ice with his teammates Saturday afternoon, albeit in a red, no-contact jersey.

“Still lots of work to do,” Malkin said. “I hope to be back soon.”

He said he would like to play in “two or three” of the remaining four games left on the regular-season schedule before the playoffs, but he will be cautious.

“More games is better, but I can’t rush right now,” Malkin said. “We understand it’s just four games left.

I’m not playing all of them. I’m trying for one or two. I feel it’s like good for me if I play two or three games, but we’ll see how I feel after tomorrow. Every day is important.”

Malkin suffered the rib injury, courtesy of Robert Bortuzzo’s crosscheck back on March 16, didn’t surprise the Russian of his former Penguins teammate of 113 games.

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“I’m not surprised because he’s always played like this,” Malkin said of Bortuzzo. “He can fight. He can block shots. He’s not like a goal-scoring defenseman. He’s a tough defenseman. I’m surprised because I did not see him. He’s coming to my side. I think it should be a penalty for sure. But it’s a long time ago. I forget that. But I hope I see him in the final.”

In the meantime, Malkin will be re-evaluated before Sunday’s divisional battle with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Coach Mike Sullivan will announce Malkin’s official status at 3 p.m. when he meets with reporters before that game.

Cox Media Group