DETROIT— The banged-up Pittsburgh Penguins took another hit.They just hope it’s not a big
one.Evgeni Malkin had a goal and two assists before hurting his left leg early in the third period of
Pittsburgh’s 4-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night.“He was walking around after the game,”
Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said.Malkin was in fact walking, but with a noticeable limp.He got tangled up with
Detroit’s Luke Glendening, lost his balance and his left skate took the brunt of a collision with the boards
behind Pittsburgh’s net. Malkin slowly got up and kept his left skate in the air as he was helped off the
ice. He was called for holding on the play, but couldn’t serve the penalty because he was being
evaluated.Malkin moved past the 600-point mark for his career during the game and ranks among league leaders
with 41 points this season.NHL scoring leader Sidney Crosby scored two goals to help the Penguins win
without standout defenseman Kris Letang, who was a late scratch because of an upper-body injury.“Losing Kris
before the game was tough,” Crosby said. “We stuck with it and found a way.”Pittsburgh defenseman Brooks
Orpik hasn’t played since being punched Dec. 7 by Boston’s Shawn Thornton, who was suspended by the league
for 15 games on Saturday.The Penguins might lose another player from their blue line because the NHL is
trying to crack down on blows above the shoulders.Defenseman Deryk Engelland put himself in danger of being
suspended for an illegal hit to the head. Engelland landed his right shoulder high on Detroit forward Justin
Abdelkader late in the first period and was ejected with a match penalty. Abdelkader struggled to get up,
had to be helped off the ice and didn’t return.“He dumps it in and I try to finish my check,” Engelland
said. “Obviously I’m not trying to hit him in the head or anything like that, but I think I catch his chin a
little bit before his body.”Detroit defenseman Brendan Smith was suspended for five games two years ago for
a similar hit.“I know what it feels like because I’ve been in that position,” Smith said. “It’s a quick
game, things happen.”Pittsburgh’s Jeff Zatkoff made 28 saves, getting the start in part because he was
playing near his hometown of Sterling Heights, Mich.“He was pretty pumped up about playing back here at Joe
Louis against the Red Wings,” Bylsma said. “He was strong.”Jonas Gustavsson gave up three goals on 13 shots
through two periods, playing in place of injured starter Jimmy Howard, and finished with 21 saves.“When you
let four goals in it’s tough to win,” he said. “I got to be better.”The Red Wings got off to a good start.
They went ahead 1-0 at 6:09 of the first period when Niklas Kronwall’s shot just inside the blue line went
off Crosby’s stick, bounced off the ice and got past Zatkoff.The lead didn’t last long.Detroit went to the
penalty box twice midway through the first period and the NHL’s top team on the power play took
advantage.Crosby scored at 9:08 of the first and Malkin made it 2-1 at the 12:50 mark of the period.The Red
Wings outshot Pittsburgh 14-4 in the second, which started with them on the power play for four-plus minutes
because of Engelland’s penalty, but didn’t score.“We didn’t do enough with it,” Detroit coach Mike Babcock
said. “We had some looks. Their guy made some saves, but we were perimeter on the power play. Power play is
establishing a net-front presence, shooting the puck and getting it back and outworking them to get
retrievals and be on top of them.”Olli Maatta gave Pittsburgh a two-goal lead in the final minute of the
second period. Crosby, who started the night with an NHL-high 44 points, scored his second goal with
five-plus minutes left.“We started well on the power play and then were able to shut them down on the
five-minute power play,” Crosby said. “That was an important part of the game.”NOTES: Bylsma (U.S.) and
Babcock (Canada) will lead their countries in two months at the Winter Olympics. … Penguins D Brian
Dumoulin made his NHL debut.