NEW YORK (AP) — Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin was suspended for five games for slashing Buffalo defenseman Rasmus Dahlin on the head, a punishment that will cost the Penguins forward nearly $160,000, the NHL announced Friday night.
Malkin was assessed a minor penalty for cross-checking, a major penalty for slashing and a game misconduct 35 seconds into the second period of the Penguins' 4-1 loss to the Sabres on Thursday night.
Video showed that Malkin and Dahlin made contact at the side of the Buffalo net. Dahlin cross-checked Malkin, for which he was penalized, and Malkin responded by raising his stick and striking Dahlin on his helmet and shoulder.
The NHL's Department of Player Safety noted that Malkin was not off-balance and the contact was not accidental.
The 39-year-old Malkin has been fined five times and suspended twice previously in his NHL career, one game for high-sticking Philadelphia’s Michael Raffl in February 2019 and four games in April 2022 for cross-checking Nashville’s Mark Borowiecki.
Malkin has 13 goals and 47 points in 46 games this season and 527 goals and 1,393 points in a 20-year NHL career, all in Pittsburgh.
The Penguins are already without captain Sidney Crosby for a minimum of four weeks because of a lower-body injury as the team, currently in second place in the Metropolitan Division, battles for playoff position.
Under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement and, based on his average annual salary, Malkin will forfeit $158,854.15. That money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Pittsburgh Penguins' Evgeni Malkin (71) skates during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres in Pittsburgh, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
MIAMI (AP) — Ronald Acuña Jr. scored easily from third base for Venezuela at the World Baseball Classic, and about a half-dozen of his teammates hopped over the dugout railing to start a celebration.
It was a 1-0 game. In the first inning. Didn't matter.
“For our people, baseball is joy,” Jessalyn Suarez, an office manager from Miami, said as she walked into the ballpark about an hour earlier. “Today is joy. Today is not about anything else.”
She was like many other Venezuelan fans Friday — wearing her team's jersey, her country's flag knotted loosely around her neck, the country's yellow-blue-red color scheme painted on her face and the faces of some of her friends.
Unusual political times didn't seem to matter. Thousands of Venezuelans — the stadium was maybe one-third filled for Venezuela vs. Netherlands on Friday, with the overwhelming majority of fans cheering for “La Vinotinto” — showed up to watch their national team play on U.S. soil, two months after American forces executed a military operation in Venezuela to capture deposed leader Nicolás Maduro and bring him to New York to face drug trafficking charges.
“Nobody is thinking about him today,” Jesus Otero, a retired heavy machine operator from nearby Hialeah, said as he watched batting practice. “He's not here.”
In the end, the Venezuelan fans left happy: Their team won the opener 6-2.
There were a few Netherlands caps and shirts in the crowd — but for the most part, the party was very Latin.
At 10:30 a.m. outside the ballpark, more than 90 minutes before first pitch, fans arrived as music from Elsen Pro, Bacilos and Carlos Vives blared over giant speakers. At a gas station across the street from one of the parking garages, someone was selling Venezuela jerseys, caps and flags, all packed up into a couple of duffel bags that were serving as display cases.
Inside, fans cheered from the very first pitch. Many had their phones out to grab video of the team being announcing, taping what was being shown on the huge screen in center field. The upper deck was almost entirely empty, but the lower deck — especially on the third-base side, the one where Venezuela's dugout was — was bustling.
“Venezuelan baseball fans are very motivated and involved with everything that happens with the team,” said Nelson Zurita, a Venezuelan who calls Chile home but flew to Miami for the tournament. “They are aware of every transaction in the anticipation to the Classic. The country will always be focused on sports but especially baseball. ... The players do not want to mix politics with baseball, but the country is completely behind them.”
There were no signs of protests outside the ballpark Friday; there was a presence of police officers and sheriff's deputies, but that seemed largely for standard security and traffic-control reasons. Fans were going through the usual sorts of ticket-checks and bag searches that are in place for Miami Marlins games and other events at the ballpark.
WBC officials said the night game Friday — Nicaragua vs. the Dominican Republic — was a sellout, with more than 35,000 people in the ballpark. The announced attendance for the Venezuela-Netherlands game was 19,542.
“The presence of this team provides some relief from the everyday political stress,” Zurita said. “The emphasis instead is on the Classic. Baseball breathes new life.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Venezuela's Ronald Acuña Jr. (21) runs to first base after hitting a double to center field during a World Baseball Classic game against the Netherlands, Friday, March 6, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Venezuela's Ronald Acuña Jr. (21) celebrates after scoring during the first inning of a World Baseball Classic game against the Netherlands, Friday, March 6, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Venezuela fans cheer the team during a World Baseball Classic game against the Netherlands, Friday, March 6, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
