PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Penguins placed center Evgeni Malkin on injured reserve Sunday with an upper-body injury.
Malkin missed his fourth straight game against Tampa Bay. He was a late riser before Tuesday's home game against Columbus when he took part in the morning skate, but was not present during pregame warmups.
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said before the game against the Lightning that Malkin's IR move was procedural to activate forward Philip Tomasino from injured reserve. Sullivan described Malkin as day-to-day.
Malkin had a streak of 209 consecutive games played before the injury, the 12th longest in team history. Without Malkin, a two-time scorer and 2012 Hart Trophy winner, Pittsburgh is currently 1-1-1.
Malkin, who scored his 500th goal earlier this season and his 1,300th. NHL point scorer, has eight goals and 24 assists in 41 games.
Sullivan also said Sunday that Malkin's linemate Michael Bunting was involved in a car accident outside PPG Paints Arena before the game. Sullivan said Bunting was OK, but he didn't play against Tampa Bay. Bunting has 13 goals and 12 assists in 43 games this season.
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