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Bad news continues to mount for the Pittsburgh Penguins. All-Star center Evgeni Malkin is likely out for the season with a knee injury. Captain Sidney Crosby has missed 14 games with a concussion, and now sources say he’s at least 10 days away from resuming normal exercise and isn’t likely to get back into the lineup until March. It’s even possible Crosby won’t return this year.

The Penguins have managed to play pretty well without their top two stars — at least so far. Their Sunday afternoon 3-0 loss to the Washington Capitals was just their second loss in seven games without both Crosby and Malkin.

The other good news for the Penguins is that if they do put Malkin on injured reserve, they’ll clear up $8 million in cap space that they can use to add help before the NHL’s February 28th trade deadline. Still, it’s hard to see the Penguins making it deep into the playoffs without a healthy and clear-headed Crosby.

Sunday’s loss left the Penguins (34-16-4) three points behind the Philadelphia Flyers for first place in the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference. The Capitals (29-15-10) are four points behind the Penguins and in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, as well as three points behind Tampa Bay for the Southeast Division lead. If the Penguins can’t keep up their strong play in Crosby’s absence, they’ll likely have to begin the playoffs on the road.