Evgeni Malkin out for Pittsburgh Penguins at Boston Bruins; Pascal Dupuis questionable

Nov 20, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Pascal Dupuis (9) skates with the puck as Washington Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner (27) defends in the first period at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

As the Pittsburgh Penguins try to extend their season-long five-game winning streak, they will be without the league’s No. 2 scorer for the second straight game.

Evgeni Malkin, who missed Thursday’s home win over the San Jose Sharks because of an undisclosed lower-body injury, didn’t travel to Boston with the team Friday and will thus be unavailable for Saturday’s matchup with the Bruins. Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said only that Malkin was day-to-day and the team will approach his status on an ad hoc basis.

Pittsburgh might be missing another top-six forward against Boston, as Pascal Dupuis skated Saturday morning but is questionable for the 7 p.m. faceoff at TD Garden. Dupuis scored his fourth goal of the season Thursday before departing with what the club is calling a lower-body injury early in the second period.

Bylsma told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review‘s Rob Rossi that Dupuis has had this injury before and thus will have a good deal of input on whether he will dress for the game. Rossi reported Dupuis was working on his sticks after the morning workout, perhaps indicating he is planning on at least giving it a go in the pregame warm-up.

Not only will the Penguins (20-9-1, 41 points) be looking for their fifth straight victory overall, they also sport a three-game road winning streak. Pittsburgh is 8-1-1 in its last 10 and has a 10-point lead over second-place Carolina in the Metropolitan Division.