Penguins activate Malkin from injured reserve, re-assign Puljujarvi to AHL

Evgeni Malkin will return to the Pittsburgh Penguins lineup on Tuesday as they host the Seattle Kraken.

The team announced that Malkin has been activated off injured reserve and that forward Jesse Puljujarvi has been re-assigned to the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Malkin was placed on the IR Sunday before missing his fourth consecutive game due to an upper-body injury.

In 41 games this season, the 38-year-old centre has eight goals and 32 points.

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said before Sunday’s matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning that Malkin’s IR move was procedural in order to activate forward Philip Tomasino from injured reserve. Sullivan labelled Malkin as day-to-day.

Malkin had a streak of 209 consecutive games before the injury, the 12th-longest in team history. Pittsburgh went 1-2-1 during the stretch without Malkin, a two-time scoring champion and 2012 Hart Trophy winner.

Puljujarvi, 26, has three goals and nine points through 25 games with the Penguins this season. The former first-round pick of the Edmonton Oilers cleared waivers on Dec. 31, making him eligible to play in the AHL.

Pittsburgh signed him to a two-year, $1.6-million contract in February, which will expire at the end of this season.

— With files from The Associated Press

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