The Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders are both without a key player for Game 1 of their first-round playoff series Sunday.
Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin is out after being absent from the pregame warmup, Pittsburgh confirmed Sunday. Meanwhile, the Islanders are starting rookie goaltender Ilya Sorokin over Semyon Varlamov. The veteran netminder is dealing with a lower-body injury, New York head coach Barry Trotz said Saturday, according to The Athletic's Arthur Staple.
Malkin played in the Penguins' final four regular-season games after missing 23 contests with a lower-body injury. The 34-year-old was limited to 33 games in 2021. He collected eight goals and 20 assists while logging a career-low average ice time of 17:44.
Varlamov went 19-11-4 with a .929 save percentage over 36 appearances during the 2021 regular season. Sorokin, 25, went 13-6-3 with a .918 save percentage in 22 contests.
