The Pittsburgh Penguins haven't looked good of late without injured winger Evgeni Malkin in the lineup, falling to the New Jersey Devils 2-0 on Tuesday.
After the contest, Penguins head coach Mike Johnston had an update on the star player, who was initially reported as being out of action for 1-2 weeks with a lower-body injury.
“I was hoping originally (he) might be able to come on the road,” Johnston said. “Right now, it doesn’t look like that, but we’ll see after four or five days.
“The one thing about (Malkin) with injuries is, it seems like when he’s had injuries … he does come back quicker than you anticipate. Somehow, he’s willing to push through it and he wants to come back earlier than usual."
The Penguins are scheduled to travel to Dallas and Arizona this week for games with the Stars and Coyotes before returning home next Tuesday to play the St. Louis Blues.
Pittsburgh, losers of their last three games are currently without Malkin and Patric Hornqvist, two of their main scoring threats.