Penguins place Malkin on IR

The Pittsburgh Penguins will be without Evgeni Malkin for at least their next three contests. The club placed the star forward on injured reserve retroactive to March 16, meaning he'll be ineligible to return until at least March 23.

Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said earlier Thursday that Malkin would miss the evening's game against the New Jersey Devils. Pittsburgh will also play New Jersey on Saturday and Sunday before getting two days off ahead of a back-to-back against the Buffalo Sabres next Wednesday and Thursday.

Malkin is continuing to be evaluated for a lower-body injury he suffered during Tuesday's contest against the Boston Bruins, Sullivan added Thursday. The Russian sniper returned for one shift before being ruled out for the rest of the game after colliding with defenseman Jarred Tinordi in the first period Tuesday.

The Penguins have recently battled injuries to their forward group, with Teddy Blueger and Jared McCann sidelined with ailments. Despite the injuries piling up, Sullivan believes his group of forwards can battle through it.

"We just got to bring a hard team game with the resilience that's necessary to win in this league," Sullivan said. "Injuries are just a part of our game. For me, it's all about an attitude and making sure that we look at this as an opportunity. Making sure that we play together and we have a collective effort out there."

Malkin was heating up before the injury, recording 12 points over an eight-game point streak. He's managed eight goals and 16 assists in 29 contests this season.