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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 punched Rasmus Dahlin in the face.
After the whistle blew just 38 seconds into the second period, Dahlin and Malkin faced off. Dahlin cross-checked Malkin, and the Penguins star responded by raising his stick and hitting Dahlin in the face.
After hitting Dahlin, Malkin wrapped Dahlin behind the head and the two were 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-checking penalty for his infraction, while Malkin received a cross-checking penalty and a five-minute major penalty for cutting and was ejected from the game.
Penguins head coach Dan Muse did not comment on Malkin’s penalty after the game.
“He’s obviously a catalyst for our team,” said Bryan Rust, who scored Pittsburgh’s lone goal. “He drives a lot of play and creates a lot of offense. He’s an incredible 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 on Malkin’s penalty to make it 2-1, and the Sabers never looked back after that.
Malkin, who has been suspended twice during his career, will have a hearing with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety on Friday. Malkin was suspended one game for hitting Michael Raffl of the Philadelphia Flyers in February 2019 and four games in April 2022 for cross-checking Mark Borowiecki of the Nashville Predators.
“I hope he served his sentence (Thursday), and that’s it,” defenseman Erik Karlsson said. “He is an important part of this team. He plays good 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-game home point streak 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 are counting on Malkin to take over.
Losing Malkin to a suspension for any length of time would be a huge blow to the Penguins.
“I think we showed throughout the year that we are a pretty solid team,” Karlsson said. “We miss those two guys, but it’s nothing we haven’t done before.”
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