Pens coach Dan Bylsma has confirmed the expected fear that center Evgeni Malkin suffered a concussion as a result of his crash into the boards on Friday night. From the Tribune--Review:
Evgeni Malkin has a concussion and short-term memory loss, Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said Sunday night.
"He is feeling fine and his memory is returning," Bylsma said. "The short-term memory in instances he didn't remember is returning."
Malkin was injured Friday night on a hard collision into the boards during a win at home over Florida.
Bylsma said Sunday night that Malkin's symptoms are limited specifically to the memory loss.
Multiple sources told the Tribune-Review that Malkin was also experiencing severe headaches and disorientation Saturday morning.
With that, Bylsma also said that Malkin will not travel with the team or play during the three game road trip this week that will see Pittsburgh travel to Florida on tuesday before going to Carolina on Thursday and then Montreal on Saturday. The Pens will then return to Pittsburgh and play Tampa Bay next Monday, March 4th.
There's a lot of ways to intrepret this- it's good Bylsma was forthcoming and the team has at least officially announced the injury and some timeline details, out all this week, as to be expected. It seems like a good sign that Malkin hasn't experienced a lot of symptoms, and the best hope is Bylsma's report that Malkin's "returning" memory could indicate the lessening of the symptoms.