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Malkin suffers upper-body injury on JVR hit

Mikhail Grabovski, Evgeni Malkin

TORONTO, CANADA - MARCH 9: Mikhail Grabovski #84 of the Toronto Maple Leafs defends as Evgeni Malkin #71 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates the puck up ice during NHL game action March 9, 2013 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Graig Abel/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Pittsburgh Penguins earned a 5-4 shootout victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, but they lost Evgeni Malkin in the process.

The Penguins announced that Malkin, who has already missed time this season with a concussion, sustained an upper-body injury on Saturday. The silver lining is that it’s not a head injury.

Malkin was hurt when he absorbed a hit from Toronto forward James van Riemsdyk and was pulled out of the game for precautionary reasons, according to Sportsnet’s John Shannon.

Prior to the injury, Malkin registered an assist, giving him 24 points in 21 games.

Even if the injury is minor, the timing of it is inopportune. Following Saturday’s contest, Pittsburgh will play another five games in just eight days. That stretch includes two games against the soaring Boston Bruins and a match versus the New York Rangers.