Dan Bylsma just called and informed me that Evgeni Malkin will be out for at least 2-3 weeks with a shoulder injury. I will be flying out to Pittsburgh tomorrow morning to assess his condition. As Bunny is a qualified acupuncturist (he picked up the art while traveling in South East Asia), he is traveling with me to help deal with the situation. I've already informed Mike Tomlin that we will need to consult with him as well.
With both Gonchar and Malkin out, the Penguins will need to work extra hard to maintain their impressive momentum, as they are coming off of an impressive 6-1 rout of the Canadians which included a Sidney Crosby hat trick. I trust that Jordan Staal will step up from centering the #3 line to the #2 line with little difficulty. The question is who will fill Staal's 3rd-line role, which would typically be shouldered by the always reliable Maxime Talbot, but he too is out until at least December. Once Dan Bylsma and I have properly assessed the situation, we will begin to talk strategy.
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