Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin doubled down on Thursday, stating again that he believes Philadelphia Flyers forward Michael Raffl dove after Malkin swung his stick at him in the third period of Monday's game.

Malkin said he had mixed feelings on the suspension itself, but repeated his post-game comments from Monday that Raffl tried to a draw a call.

“Yes and no,” Malkin said of whether he agreed with the suspension, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “One game probably, it’s OK. I play dangerous. My stick went high. My point [to the NHL] was that I didn’t touch his face. I touched his shoulder. I think he dove.”

With the Penguins leading 3-0 late in the third period on Monday, Malkin reacted to a punch to the back of the head from Raffl by swinging his stick one-handed at the head of the Flyers’ forward. The Penguins forward was assessed a match penalty and was suspended one day later for Wednesday's game against the Edmonton Oilers.

Malkin said after Monday's game he didn't think he'd be suspended since Raffl wasn’t injured on the play, but the NHL said in their video release Tuesday that the action was worthy of a suspension.

"It's important to note that while we understand Malkin's contention that his stick only made glancing contact with Raffl, this does not excuse his actions. NHL stick fouls do not require that contact be made for discipline to be assessed," the NHL said in its ruling.

Flyers head coach Scott Gordon characterized Malkin's swing as "vicious" on Thursday.

“It wasn’t a high stick. It was a baseball swing," Gordon said. "Just because you didn’t connect doesn’t mean it wasn’t vicious. I don’t think he should be rewarded just because he didn’t connect.”

Malkin, meanwhile, put the blame on Raffl for sparking the incident.

"We’re winning 3-0. There’s four [plus] minutes left. We know Philly is gonna start doing s--- and running around when they’re losing," Malkin said Thursday.

“I missed five games because I had a problem with my neck. [Raffl] hit me behind my neck. Of course I’m a little bit upset.”

Malkin, 32, has 14 goals and 56 points in 51 games this season and dressed Monday for the first time since Jan. 30.

He added on Thursday that the suspension also took into account his questionable hit on Washington Capitals forward T.J. Oshie in November which he was not disciplined for.