Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin missed Friday’s 5-3 win over the Ottawa Senators and will also sit out Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs because of an upper-body injury.
Malkin, who had two assists in a win Wednesday against Tampa Bay, has five goals in his past 29 games.
“I’m disappointed for him because he had a great game [Wednesday],” Sullivan said. “We think that was a game he could really build on, but we’re hopeful this is a short-term thing. Certainly the fact that he had a strong game as he did the other night is encouraging, and we’re looking forward to getting him back in our lineup.”
With Malkin out of the lineup, the Penguins turned to newly acquired players Nick Bjugstad and Jared McCann on Friday, with Bjugstad centering the second line, while McCann was the third-line center.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.