Evgeni Malkin suspended four games for cross-check to face

The Pittsburgh Penguins will be without one of their stars players until April 23.

The NHL announced that All-Star forward Evgeni Malkin has been suspended for four games without pay for cross checking veteran defenceman Mark Borowiecki in the face. The incident occurred during the Penguins’ 3-2 overtime win against the Nashville Predators on Sunday.

Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan is obviously not happy to be without Malkin for the next little while, but understands how emotions can get the best of players from time to time.

“Obviously, we don’t want our best players in the penalty box, but these guys are competitive guys and they push back. We’d prefer they be on the ice. They give us a better chance when they’re on the ice, for sure. But one of the things we love about Geno is how competitive he is, and so when you get an emotional game like the game we had today, those things happen.” said Sullivan.

As a result of the suspension, Malkin will forfeit $190,000 in salary.

The Penguins currently sit third in the Metropolitan Division with a 42-22-10 record.