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Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin lost his cool in the second period of the team’s 5-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabers on Thursday at PPG Paints Arena and cut Rasmus Dahlin across the face.
After the whistle just 38 seconds into the second period, Dahlin and Malkin confronted each other. Dahlin cross-checked Malkin, and the Penguins star responded by bringing up his stick and poking Dahlin in the face.
After chopping Dahlin, Malkin wrapped Dahlin up behind the head and the two were eventually separated.
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Rasmus Dahlin (26) of the Buffalo Sabers fights 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-checking penalty for his foul, while Malkin received a cross-checking penalty and a five-minute major for slashing and was ejected from the game.
Penguins head coach Dan Muse did not comment on Malkin’s punishment after the game.
“He’s obviously a catalyst for our team,” said Bryan Rust, who scored Pittsburgh’s only goal. “He runs a lot of plays and creates a lot of offense. He’s an incredible player, so it’s unfortunate.”
Pittsburgh Penguins’ Evgeni Malkin skates in the first period against the Buffalo Sabers in Pittsburgh March 5, 2026. (Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo)
Sabers forward Josh Norris scored on the power play from Malkin’s penalty kick 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-sticking Philadelphia Flyers’ Michael Raffl in February 2019 and four games in April 2022 for cross-checking Nashville Predators’ Mark Borowiecki.
“Hopefully he served his time (Thursday) and that was it,” defenseman Erik Karlsson said. “He’s a big part of this team. He’s played great hockey and gives us another dimension to our offensive game.”
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Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin skates with the puck in the first period against the Buffalo Sabers March 5, 2026 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. (Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Malkin’s 10-game home run streak ended Thursday. He has 13 goals and 47 points in 46 games. The Penguins are without Sidney Crosby due to an injury suffered during the Olympics and have been relying on Malkin to step up.
Losing Malkin to a suspension for any period 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 both of those guys, but it’s nothing we haven’t done before.”
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