Evgeni Malkin was in clear pain on the bench after the Penguins’ 3-2 win over the Canucks on Sunday.
The Penguins were celebrating the win at the final buzzer when Anthony Mantha punched Malkin in the left shoulder, and Malkin immediately reached up for his shoulder and collapsed to the ground. He stayed hunched over on the bench for some time afterward.
The left shoulder was the one that Malkin previously injured and was sidelined for several weeks as a result. His shoulder wasn’t 100% when he came back, and still needed to tape it up to practice and play. His shoulder injury is why he was moved to the wing, since he’s not able to effectively take faceoffs.
Muse said he had ‘no update’ on Malkin after the game. I spoke briefly with Muse after his availability and he confirmed he knew something happened to Malkin afterward, but he wasn’t 100% clear on what happened. He didn’t seem overly concerned, but noted that he just waits for the medical staff to tell him things.