Malkin 'a little bit nervous' for imminent return

TAMPA, Fla. -- Evgeni Malkin's hardly Knute Rockne, but he's made more than his share of heady remarks over the years. Bold predictions, candid callouts, that sort of stuff.

Not now. He's not in the mood.

Yeah, he was back on the ice with the Penguins for their hour-long practice Friday afternoon at Amalie Arena, his fullest participation in the 10 days since sustaining an upper-body injury. He was speaking publicly for the first time, too. But he was still wearing that no-contact sweater, and he still spent much of the session at the far end of the rink with other injured players and regular scratches.

And no, he still can't play. Mike Sullivan didn't formally rule out anyone for the meeting here Saturday night with the Lightning, but Malkin himself did rule that out and expressed "hope" he could return for the following game Monday in Philadelphia.

We'll see.

About everything.

That's not just my stance. It's Malkin's, too, if one completely processes the terrific answer he gave when I asked if, after all the disappointment he's already incurred this winter, how much more motivated he might be for the stretch drive:

Terribly loose translation: What good is talking if I might not back it up?

Not that he's ever stunk, of course. And not that he has these past few months, either. There remains no plane of reality in which someone punches up 55 points in 50 NHL games in some insignificant manner. At the same time ... you know, we've all seen it. And he has, too. He'll look like 'Beast Mode' Geno for a shift or two, a game or two, then go silent -- or worse -- for the next little while.

This latest setback surely stings the most.

On Jan. 30, on Malkin's second shift of the Penguins' 4-2 victory over the Lightning at PPG Paints Arena, he was leveled on a clean check by Tampa Bay defenseman Dan Girardi:

As Malkin would confirm for the first time, that's when he was hurt, not in the much later -- and much more discussed -- fight with Steven Stamkos.

"I felt, like, pain right away," Malkin recalled of the Girardi check.

He added that, because "it was a tough game and we battled hard," he wanted to keep playing. He said the team's doctors gave him "pain pills after the first period. It was a little help to me. But it's always like, when you're playing, you're not feeling it. The worst pain is the next morning, the next day. I felt all right after the hit. But the next day, I feel, like, so bad. I knew I had something wrong."

Funny thing: Malkin was excellent that night. It felt like a real step forward, remember?

"Yeah, step forward, if I play the next game," he essentially echoed. "But now I miss the next four games, and now I am a little bit nervous again. Because I have a good game, great game, and we win, 4-2, and I look forward ... but it's life. We have injuries. We have problems."

He sighed.

"I'll do my best. I'll remember I played good against Tampa. But ... we'll see."

MURRAY SET FOR RETURN

Matt Murray was a full -- and passionately invested, I might add -- participant in practice. Came off the ice panting like a dog in Florida heat, albeit with a broad smile visible under the mask.

Sullivan allowed that Murray might be able to return Saturday night, and Murray's assessment was no different: "Yeah, I think so, for sure."

Murray was hurt Tuesday night in the final seconds of the Penguins' 4-0 loss to the Hurricanes at PPG Paints Arena. The Penguins called it an upper-body injury while stating it was not a concussion. He didn't suit up Thursday night for the 3-2 overtime loss to the Panthers in Sunrise, Fla.

He's been banged up quite a bit, actually. And after never having topped 49 games in any NHL regular season, he set out to achieve that and maybe more in 2018-19, but he's been limited to just 26.

"It is what it is. It's part of the game," Murray said. "It's a fast game out there, and things happen, so I don't think it's worth getting frustrated about. I'll do what I can to stop the puck, and if that goes too far and something weird happens and you get hurt, something goes off the head ... that's part of the game, too."

ASTON-REESE SPEAKS, TOO

Zach Aston-Reese was in a non-contact sweater, but he was back in the team's practice setting for the first time -- and speaking for the first time -- since his left hand was broken Jan. 8 in a fight with the Panthers' Colton Sceviour. He was doing all drills but visibly favoring the hand throughout.

"It was definitely good to be out there with the guys," he said. "It's no fun doing one-on-ones by yourself."

Aston-Reese said he "didn't know" exactly how the hand was hurt but said the Penguins' doctors told him it likely was from the fall that ended it.

"I just remember going to the box and thinking maybe it was a bruise. Then, sure enough, I got the X-ray. It wasn't good news."

THE SESSION

• The Penguins went hard for nearly an hour, focused on high-intensity movement more than anything strategic. Kris Letang was the only player who didn't participate. I confirmed with Sullivan that it was only a maintenance day.

• Much of the day's focus, per Sullivan, was on video work. The focus, not surprisingly, was the need to shoot more often. "I told them they're trying to pass it into the net," Sullivan said. "Get it to the net. That gives us one chance to score, and the rebound gives us another."

• Justin Schultz was a full participant again but sounded unlikely to make his return Saturday. "No setbacks. Everything's going well," Schultz said. "I'll be back soon, hopefully. I'm taking it day to day. I don't want to rush this and come back too soon. This was a pretty serious injury, so I'm just trying to feel better every day and get to 100 percent."

• No lines and pairings were shown, but that's generally a strong sign that no change will be made. Sullivan did try different forward lines late in the loss Thursday, but those were button-pushing exercises, from what I was told. Of particular note, Sullivan wasn't at all displeased with Nick Bjugstad's initial work alongside Sidney Crosby, even though Bryan Rust bumped him late.

• Crosby will play his 916th game Saturday, breaking Mario Lemieux's franchise record of 915. Crosby seems to set a major milestone almost monthly, but this one, it was easy to tell, is special. "I'm just happy I've been in Pittsburgh this long," he said. "You never know when you're drafted by a team, there's high expectations, you want to be part of it for your career, but you never know how it's going to go. So I think the fact that I've been with Pittsburgh, I appreciate that. And it's been nice to share that with a lot of the players who've been here for a big part of that."

MATT SUNDAY GALLERY