Evgeni Malkin will miss NHL All-Star Game with lower body injury

Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin will miss the 2017 NHL All-Star Game and its festivities due to a lower body injury. 

The NHL frowns upon its stars when they miss All-Star Games. However, sometimes, a player’s health is far more important than risk getting hurt in an exhibition game. Such is the case with Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin. Due to a lower body injury, he will miss the 2017 NHL All-Star Game. Malkin will also miss at least one game thanks to the injury.

It must be a legitimate injury because he’s sitting out at least one game. That’s the mandatory requirement for any player who is named to the All-Star Game but later drops out. Last season, Alex Ovechkin and Jonathan Toews each sat out a game because they didn’t attend the event.

No replacement for Malkin has been named yet, but expect it to be one of three players. If they want an extra center with Malkin out (the Metropolitan Division only has Sidney Crosby and John Tavares as their centers sans Malkin), Nicklas Backstrom of the Washington Capitals is the most logical replacement. On the other hand, Michael Grabner of the New York Rangers or Cam Atkinson of the Columbus Blue Jackets could get the nod over Backstrom if they would prefer to add a wing. Whoever they pick would be very deserving.

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Malkin has been having a terrific season for Pittsburgh. He’s tied with Crosby for the lead in the Eastern Conference in points with 54. Only Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers has more points as of Jan. 25. Malkin is tied for fourth in the NHL in both goals (22) and assists (32). It doesn’t sound like the injury is too severe, which is good. Still, it’s bad enough for the Penguins to not want him to go to the All-Star Game. Of course, this is probably more of an issue of the Penguins making sure Malkin stays healthy.