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 scratch before Tuesday’s home game against Columbus when he participated in the morning skate, but he did not participate in the pregame warmup.
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said before the game against the Lightning that Malkin’s IR move was procedural in order to activate forward Philip Tomasino from injured reserve. Sullivan called Malkin everyday.
Malkin had a 209-game streak before his injury, the 12th longest in team history. Pittsburgh is 1-1-1 during the current stretch without Malkin, a two-time scoring champion and 2012 Hart Trophy winner.
Malkin, who scored his 500th goal and recorded his 1,300th point in the NHL earlier this season, has eight goals and 24 assists in 41 games.
Sullivan also said Sunday that Malkin’s teammate, Michael Bunting, was involved in a car accident outside PPG Paints Arena before the game. Sullivan said Bunting was fine, but did not play against Tampa Bay. Bunting has 13 goals and 12 assists in 43 games this season.
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