Evgeni Malkin chirps Sidney Crosby

The Pittsburgh Penguins recently got a scare, as superstar forward Evgeni Malkin was struck in the leg by a slap shot from none other than his own teammate in Sidney Crosby. An unfortunate case of friendly fire, Malkin left the game but the good news was that he was a full participant in practice and was able to suit up against the Carolina Hurricanes.

And during their recent practice session, Malkin had a good-natured chip for his longtime teammate. 

“He said, ‘Next time, I’ll shoot harder,’” Malkin said after the Penguins’ practice. “I’m lucky it was his shot, not like (Kris Letang) or (Jake Guentzel). We know Sid doesn’t shoot so hard.”

"It's pain," he said. "I felt a little bit numb, my leg. I was little bit scared because it was the same knee (that had been surgically repaired), but after like 10 or 15 minutes, I felt so much better. My knee started to feel better. I saw a bruise. I put ice (on it) and after a half-hour, I felt like I could walk. It was so much better.”

According to head coach Mike Sullivan, Malkin "dodged a bullet" with the injury. 

“He recovered well,” Sullivan said. “He’s a tough kid. We’re fortunate that we dodged a bullet there. He’s feeling good. He skated well in practice. We’re certainly encouraged by that.”

So far this season in 31 games played, Malkin has scored 10 goals with 22 assists. He and the Penguins are back in action tonight against the New York Rangers.