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After missing the last seven games due to a lingering injury, Evgeni Malkin stole the show in his return to the lineup on Tuesday night in a 4-0 Penguins victory over the visiting Vancouver Canucks. Malkin recorded a goal and an assist in the win while fellow star Sidney Crosby moved to one point shy of 1,000 with an assist in the third period. Matt Murray turned away several high percentage chances from the Canucks to record his third shutout of the season. [Pensburgh]
Pens will be back in action on Thursday night on the front end of a back to back set heading taking us into the weekend. For the first time this season the Pens will square off against the Winnipeg Jets are PPG Paints Arena. Game time is set for 7:00 PM and will be broadcast on ROOT Sports.
With rink preparations underway at Heinz Field for the Stadium Series contest with the Flyers, the Pens released a schedule of events for the week leading up to the game. [Penguins]
Head coach Mike Sullivan’s system is built on speed and a healthy Pens’ lineup packs plenty of punch night in and night out. Depleted by injuries to their fastest guys, the healthy ones are keeping the pace high and sticking to the system. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]
One of those speedy forwards on the injured list is making small steps on his way to making a comeback to the lineup. Carl Hagelin is back skating at practice but the team announced there is no timetable for his return. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]
Playing his first game in Pittsburgh since being traded away for Nick Bonino, Brandon Sutter spoke of the fond memories he has of playing hockey in the Steel City. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]
After being injured against the Colorado Avalanche last week, the team announced that forward Bryan Rust will be missing an extended amount of time with an undisclosed injury. If there is any silver lining in this situation the team also mentioned that the injury will not be season ending for Rust. [NBCSports]
News and notes from around the NHL...
The Montreal Canadiens made a move yesterday that shocked the hockey world. Late in the afternoon the Canadiens announced the firing of head coach Michel Therrien and replacing him with former Bruins (also former Canadiens) head coach Claude Julien. [Puck Daddy]
Players seemed to welcome the new bye week teams are mandated to take during the season. However that time off seems to be having a negative effect on the teams when they return to action. [NJ.com]