PITTSBURGH — The Penguins were left in disbelief Wednesday after two more of their players came down with COVID-19, giving their revolving door of a roster another whirl.
Sidney Crosby and Brian Dumoulin have both been confirmed positive for the virus and were placed on the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list. That news was announced an hour after Kris Letang and Bryan Rust returned to a team practice setting.
That now makes it eight Penguins confirmed positive in the last five and a half weeks. Marcus Pettersson and Chad Ruhwedel are currently sidelined, too.
“It’s tough. I’m not going to lie. We are trying to do all the right things,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said, speaking with a subdued tone, after practice. “It’s been a little bit discouraging because I know how disciplined our group is. … We’re trying to do everything we can to mitigate the risk. And yet we’re still getting it.”
One of the latest was Crosby, the face of the franchise and the most famous player in the NHL. The superstar center displayed mild symptoms Wednesday, just four days after he returned to the lineup following offseason surgery on his left wrist. He missed the team’s first seven games as he worked his way back.
Early Wednesday afternoon, Sullivan said that everything happened so quickly after Crosby and Dumoulin were confirmed positive before practice that he hadn’t yet gotten a chance to call his captain. He planned to do so later in the day.
“I’m sure he’s discouraged. He’s worked extremely hard to get to this point and we were all so excited about getting him back in the lineup … and this just puts another roadblock in front of him,” Sullivan said. “But we’ll control what we can here. We’ve got capable people. And we’re hopeful that Sid will return soon.”
Up front, Jeff Carter skated in Crosby’s old spot between Jake Guentzel and Danton Heinen on the top line. The second line was Jason Zucker, Evan Rodrigues and Kasperi Kapanen. Sam Lafferty could draw back into the lineup with Crosby ill.
Dumoulin, another front-line player, was asymptomatic Wednesday morning.
His absence left the Penguins without three of the six defensemen who were in their opening lineup. On Sunday, Ruhwedel and Pettersson were both placed on the COVID-19 list. Sullivan said they have experienced mild symptoms but are improving. He added that Ruhwedel felt well enough to ride an exercise bike Tuesday.
“Our depth is being challenged at that position in particular. I always say to the guys that the positive side when a couple of guys are out it means other guys are in,” Sullivan said. “It’s going to give guys an opportunity to step up and make a positive impact on the team. They’re going to play a more significant role.”
Pierre-Olivier Joseph is on track to make his season debut Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers. Juuso Riikola and Mark Friedman will play. The Penguins could also add another defenseman from their American Hockey League club.
But they could potentially get a huge boost if Letang is cleared to return.
The All-Star defenseman was confirmed positive for the virus on Oct. 25 and he has missed four games, the last three of them regulation losses at home.
“I pretty much had all of the symptoms. Congestion. Headaches. Pressure in the forehead. Coughing. Loss of taste and smell. Body aches. A lot of pain in the lower back and stuff like that,” the defenseman said. “That lasted about four or five days. And then after that it was just getting better and better every day.”
Letang got back on the ice Monday. He finished another individual workout Tuesday in Cranberry, saying that he skated at a high intensity for an hour and a half. During Wednesday’s practice, he appeared to be all-systems-go. He skated on the top pair with Mike Matheson and was back running the No. 1 power play.
Sullivan was pleased with what he saw from Letang, saying he had a good practice, and he left open the possibility that he could play Thursday. Letang plans to take part in the morning skate at PPG Paints Arena and will then consult with Sullivan and the medical staff to determine if he is ready to return Thursday night.
“Today was another step in the right direction,” he said. “I felt pretty good.”
Unfortunately, just three weeks into the season, you could build together a strong 4-on-4 squad with all the guys who have already been on the COVID-19 list.
Crosby, Guentzel, Carter and Zach Aston-Reese are the four Penguins forwards who have gotten the virus. The blue-liners who contracted it include Letang, Dumoulin, Pettersson and Ruhwedel. No. 1 goalie Tristan Jarry missed a practice due to COVID-19 worries but thankfully his result turned out to be a false positive.
Last season, the Penguins did not have a single confirmed case of COVID-19.
“I said to them last year, ‘We can do all of the right things and still get it,’ And that’s the reality, I think, of the world that we live in right now,” Sullivan said.
Every player on the Penguins roster has been vaccinated. Letang, the team’s NHLPA player representative, said some of them have gotten their booster, too.
“I feel we have a safe group. Sometimes, you see a guy that was really, really careful and he ends up getting it and you have no idea how he did it,” Letang said. “So there is a little bit of disbelief there. Like, it’s kind of crazy. I don’t know.”
The Penguins are trying to keep their spirits up as they watch player after player battle COVID-19 or rehab injuries — or both in Crosby’s case. Obviously, the human side is a concern, especially with teammates who have families. But this has depleted the roster, too. We are still waiting to see the Penguins at full strength.
“I don’t think any one or two players will replace these guys,” Sullivan said, referring to Crosby and Dumoulin. “It’s more about being more committed as a team. It’s about paying attention to details. It’s about relying on one another and trusting each other and trusting the structure and … playing within ourselves.”
Sullivan added: “Our expectation is that we’re going to continue to win.”
