Evgeni Malkin has been out for the past six games for the Pittsburgh Penguins and the star forward does not yet have a set date to return.
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Malkin is getting closer to practicing with the team, but coach Mike Sullivan did not have a timetable for his return to game action. Malkin has been able to start skating "on his own" over the past week and Sullivan said that the sessions "went very well." Malkin has been nursing a lower-body injury and likely will miss Thursday's game against the Detroit Red Wings.
The Penguins have two home games coming up against Detroit and Tampa Bay before hitting the road against Buffalo and Boston. Pro Hockey Talk reports that the Bruins game next Wednesday could be a target date for Malkin to return. The website writes that the team could hold Malkin out until the next weekend, which has a game at home against the Winnipeg Jets.
Malkin has been productive for the Penguins this season, averaging a point per game with 49 points recorded in 49 games played. Malkin has 23 goals and 26 assists on the season and before he went down with an injury he had a hot hand with 15 points in a 13-game stretch. Malkin did not practice with the team on Wednesday and his return date will come into focus once he starts regular workouts with the team again.
Sullivan also gave an update on center Nick Bonino, who has been dealing with a hand injury and has been out since last month. Sullivan said that Bonino has been staking on how own and that he is "he's getting closer to the point where he's handling the puck and getting involved that way." The Gazette also reports that David Warsofsky can start contact workouts in practice after suffering a head injury on January 17.
The Penguins play against the Red Wings on Thursday night at 7 pm ET and that game will be televised on the NBC Sports Network.