Evgeni Malkin leaves game after Dalton Prout collision (Video)

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin left his team’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday shortly after a crunching hit by Dalton Prout.

The play happened early in the second period. Malkin sped into the Columbus zone on the forecheck and collided with Prout along the boards. A screen shot of the moment where Malkin hit the boards is above.

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Below is a video of the hit. Afterwards Malkin appeared to be favoring his left hand.

After the game, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said Malkin would be evaluated Saturday. Malkin did return for another shift and set up the game-winning goal, scored by Carl Hagelin.

Losing Malkin, the 2012 Hart Trophy winner, for any stretch of time at this point in the season would be bad for the Penguins. Pittsburgh has 78 points, just three ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers, the top team out of the playoff picture. Malkin ranks second on the Penguins with 58 points in 57 games so far this season.

He missed 10 games in February with a lower body injury.

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper