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Evgeni Malkin out 6-8 weeks with upper-body injury

Pittsburgh Penguins star forward Evgeni Malkin will miss the next six-to-eight weeks with an upper-body injury.

This likely ends Malkin’s regular season for 2015-16.

Malkin collided with Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Dalton Prout in the second period of their Friday night game. A video of the play is above. After the hit, Malkin appeared to be favoring his left hand.

The Penguins are currently locked in a playoff race and the timetable pushes Malkin’s return into the postseason, but there’s currently no guarantee the Penguins will make it that far.

Pittsburgh has 78 points, just three ahead of the surging Philadelphia Flyers, the top team out of the playoff picture. Malkin ranks second on the Penguins with 58 points in 57 games this season.

According to War on Ice, Malkin has a plus-3.45 CF%Rel 5-on-5, meaning the Penguins possess the puck more relative to the rest of the team when he's on the ice. This ranks third on the Penguins amongst players who have played more than 50 games.

He missed 10 straight games in February with a lower-body injury where the Penguins went 5-4-1. The Penguins are 70-45-9 all time in games Malkin has missed with an injury.

Six weeks from Saturday is April 23. Eight weeks is May 7. 

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