No hearing for Malkin for hit to head in Pens’ loss at Caps
By STEPHEN WHYNO, AP Hockey Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — Evgeni Malkin will not have a disciplinary hearing for his shoulder to the head of T.J. Oshie during the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2-1 loss at the Washington Capitals.
Two people with direct knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press that Malkin would not face a hearing with the NHL department of player safety and therefore won’t be suspended. The people spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday because the league does not announce the lack of a hearing.
With Pittsburgh on the power play early in the third period, Malkin passed the puck and lifted his right shoulder into Oshie’s head and kept skating. The officials conferred before deciding to give Malkin a five-minute major penalty for an illegal check to the head and eject him from Wednesday night’s game.
Oshie, who returned and scored the game-winner with 1:14 left, was not mad at Malkin for what he perceived to be an accident.
“He maybe thought I was coming to hit him and so he threw the reverse shoulder out there, which I try to do that all the time,” Oshie said. “I just wasn’t expecting it being on the PK.”
League officials agreed with Oshie’s assumption that Malkin was bracing for contact, not trying to deliver a vicious headshot. Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said after the game he was not concerned about the star Russian center facing further discipline, though Washington’s Todd Reirden left open the possibility.
“That’s definitely a blow to the head,” Reirden said. “Those are things we’re trying to remove from the game. … We’re just really fortunate that it wasn’t something that was more serious and he was able to come back.”
Malkin, the Penguins’ leading scorer, will be eligible to play Saturday against the Arizona Coyotes. Pittsburgh has lost five in a row and has just one point during that stretch.
Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby stopped 41 of the 42 shots he faced for his first win since Oct. 22. He got some help from the post on almost a half-dozen occasions, but Holtby also turned in his best performance of the season.
“I felt comfortable as the game moved on,” Holtby said. “I got some breaks, too, early on. The posts obviously was a break we weren’t getting in the past.”
Holtby kept the Capitals in the game, and Oshie provided the heroics. He left the game early in the first period after taking a stick to the face from Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta and needed two stitches to close a cut next to his left eye.
Oshie returned for the second period but had to leave again after the hit from Malkin. He returned for the second time with about five minutes remaining.
“My face is a little messed up, but I’m feeling pretty good now,” Oshie said. “He caught me there, and it is what it is. I passed my concussion test, went out and won the game.”
Pittsburgh outshot Washington 42-22 and got 20 saves from Casey DeSmith in his first career start against the Capitals. He was powerless to stop Oshie’s goal after a pass from John Carlson gave him a wide-open net.
Late in a sloppy game full of turnovers and whiffs on the puck, Oshie just wanted to make sure he didn’t shoot so high he missed the net. After missing most of the first and third periods, Oshie made the most of his only shot in 13:51 of ice time.
“I barely saw him on the bench there,” center Nicklas Backstrom said. “He came back right in time. That’s what big players do. They come back, they score the game-winner.”
NOTES: F Zach Aston-Reese made his season debut and LW Garrett Wilson made his Penguins debut after being called up Tuesday. … Penguins C Derick Brassard missed his sixth consecutive game with a lower-body injury. … Capitals D Brooks Orpik missed his fourth game with a lower-body injury. … Capitals C Nicklas Backstrom was honored before the game for recording his 600th NHL assist. He’s the first player in franchise history to reach that milestone. … NASA engineer and Apollo 13 flight director Gene Kranz was in attendance and got a standing ovation when shown on the video boards during the second period.
UP NEXT
Penguins: Look to stop their skid Saturday at home against the Arizona Coyotes.
Capitals: Continue their home stand Friday against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
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Follow AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno
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Pirates sign 3B Jung Ho Kang to 1-year deal
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jung Ho Kang is staying with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Pirates and the veteran third baseman agreed to a one-year deal Thursday that will bring Kang back for the 2019 season.
The move comes a week after Pittsburgh declined a $5.5 million club option for Kang, paying him a $250,000 buyout instead. Financial terms on Kang’s new deal weren’t immediately available.
“We feel that bringing Jung Ho back in 2019 will make us better as he will have the ability to make a positive impact on our lineup,” general manager Neal Huntington said in a statement. “Competition and options are important to any organization and this signing provides us with both.”
Kang was a star in his native South Korea when the Pirates signed him to an $11 million, four-year deal in January 2015. He finished third in NL Rookie of the Year balloting after hitting 15 homers and driving in 58 runs in 2015, when Pittsburgh won 98 games. It would be the high point of Kang’s time with the Pirates.
The 31-year-old Kang didn’t play in the U.S. between September 2016 and June 2018 because of visa issues connected to three DUI arrests in South Korea. He made it back to the majors with Pittsburgh in September, collecting two hits in six at-bats during the final weekend of the season.
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