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Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin lost his cool during the second period of the team’s 5-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabers on Thursday at PPG Paints Arena and slashed Rasmus Dahlin in the face.
After the whistle blew, just 38 seconds into the second half, Dahlin and Malkin faced off. Dahlin checked on Malkin, and the Penguins star responded by raising his stick and hitting Dahlin in the face.
After cutting Dahlin, Malkin wrapped Dahlin behind the head and the two finally separated.
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Rasmus Dahlin (26) of the Buffalo Sabers argues with Evgeni Malkin (71) of the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG PAINTS Arena in Pittsburgh on March 5, 2026. (Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images)
Dahlin received a cross-check penalty for his infraction, while Malkin received a cross-check penalty and a five-minute major penalty for cutting and was ejected from the game.
Penguins head coach Dan Muse had no comment on Malkin’s penalty after the game.
“He’s obviously a catalyst for our team,” said Bryan Rust, who scored Pittsburgh’s only goal. “He drives a lot of play and creates a lot of offense. He’s an unbelievable player, so it’s unfortunate.”
Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates during the first period against the Buffalo Sabers in Pittsburgh on March 5, 2026. (Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo)
Sabers forward Josh Norris scored on the power play of Malkin’s penalty to make it 2-1, and the Sabers never looked back after that.
Malkin, who has been suspended twice in his career, has a hearing with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety on Friday. Malkin was suspended one game for high-hitting Michael Raffl of the Philadelphia Flyers in February 2019 and four games in April 2022 for checking Mark Borowiecki of the Nashville Predators.
“Hopefully, he served his time (Thursday) and that’s it,” defenseman Erik Karlsson said. “He’s a big part of this team. He’s been playing great hockey and gives us a different dimension to our offensive game.”
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Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin skates with the puck during the first period against the Buffalo Sabers on March 5, 2026, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. (Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Malkin’s 10-point streak at home ended Thursday. He has 13 goals and 47 points in 46 games. The Penguins are without Sidney Crosby due to an injury he suffered during the Olympics and have relied on Malkin to take over.
Losing Malkin to a suspension for any length of time would be a blow to the Penguins.
“I think we’ve shown throughout the year that we’re a pretty deep team,” Karlsson said. “We miss those two guys, but it’s nothing we haven’t done before.”
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