CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Evgeni Malkin served his one-game NHL suspension for swinging his stick into the face of the Flyers’ Michael Raffl, and will be back in the lineup Saturday afternoon when the Flames come to town.
Malkin shared his thoughts on his suspension following the Penguins' optional practice Thursday at the Lemieux Sports Complex.
"One game, probably it's OK," Malkin said. "I played dangerous, my stick went high. But my point, I didn't touch his face. I touched his shoulder, I think. I think he dove."
Malkin believed his history came into consideration when the Department of Player Safety handed out the suspension. In November, he earned a five-minute major and game misconduct but no further discipline for a hit to the head of T.J. Oshie.
"I have not a great history before," said Malkin. "I hit Oshie, I talked to the NHL before. I think everything, they do it together and give me one game. It's fine. I try to forget that, it's a little bit bad luck for me. But it's one game. It's money."
To continue reading, log into your account:
