Evgeni Malkin Injury: Updates on Penguins Star's Status and Return

Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin was recovering from an upper-body injury he suffered in March. However, he has been cleared to return to the ice.

Continue for updates.

---

Malkin Will Play vs. Rangers

Saturday, April 16

Malkin will play in Game 2 against the New York Rangers, per Rangers Report.

---

Malkin Remains Among NHL's Elite Despite Injury Woes

Malkin missed time because of an undisclosed lower-body injury in February. He's among the top scorers in the league with 27 goals and 58 points in 57 games.

The two-time Art Ross Trophy winner has been one of the NHL's greats since entering the league in 2006-07, but he isn't widely recognized as a scoring machine like Patrick Kane, Alex Ovechkin or teammate Sidney Crosby.

John Buccigross of ESPN shared an interesting tidbit about Malkin's standing among the leaders in hat tricks over the past decade-plus:

Crosby has seemingly found his shot of old this season, but the Penguins will benefit from Malkin's presence in the playoffs.