Evgeni Malkin sits with injury as Penguins squander lead, lose to Blue Jackets in shootout [Video]

Entering 2024-25, Pittsburgh Penguins superstar forwards Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin had been in the lineup for each of the team’s 164 games over the previous two seasons.

And both campaigns ended with the Penguins failing to qualify for the postseason.

That led Malkin to offer a solution during training camp this past September.

“It’s so funny, when me and Sid play 82 games, we didn’t make the playoffs,” Malkin joked. “Maybe I’ll miss one game this year.”

On Tuesday, an undisclosed injury caused Malkin to miss his first game since April 2022. In his absence, the Penguins were defeated by a team they are battling with for a playoff position, falling to the Columbus Blue Jackets, 4-3, in a shootout at PPG Paints Arena.

Shootout goals by forwards Kent Johnson and Kirill Marchenko were the difference.

Beyond the team offering a “day-to-day” status via a social media account, there …